National Nurses United

NewsBriefsJuly 2006 7/25/06 7:47 PM Page 9 Nation Clamors for Universal Healthcare oliticians, community leaders, and healthcare workers of many stripes teamed up across the country June 7 to call attention to HR 676, a bill pending in Congress that would create a single-payer healthcare insurance system. In California, a bill titled SB 840 would do the same there. CNA/NNOC members in Atlanta and Detroit led press conferences and community forums in tandem with events scheduled by the bill's sponsor, Rep. John Conyers, Jr., for National Health Insurance Day. Citizens' Health Care Working Group, a commission established by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), issued a report that same day confirming that the majority of Americans they surveyed agreed that a single-payer system would best serve the nation. In Atlanta, RN Rita Valenti emceed the event at the state Capitol, which included Georgians for a Common Sense Health Plan, CNA/NNOC, and Project South—a group dedicated to eliminating poverty and genocide. A small business owner, two state representatives, several doctors, and leaders of local and national advocacy groups testified at the event for the need to create universal healthcare. Valenti also led a panel discussion at a local church the night before. Valenti said the event received considerable coverage from local television stations, radio, and newspapers. "When I went back to work my patients said, 'I saw you on TV, that's what we need,'" said Valenti, who works for Grady Health System in Atlanta, Ga. and is a former state legislator. "Nobody can ignore the issue. It's now just a question of whether they'll have the courage to stop saying we should expand coverage to this group or that group, and start going to single-payer." In Ferndale, Mich., near Detroit, Pat Cason Merenda was one of a group of RNs who attended a rally in support of HR 676. CNA/NNOC members and about 70 other auto, farm, and engineering union workers held "Honk for Healthcare" signs and talked P to pedestrians on the busy street. In Woodland Hills, Calif., a group of nurses led patients and healthcare advocates on a walking tour of many of the nation's biggest HMOs, including Blue Cross, Wellpoint, and Health Net. "It's a disaster," said UC Irvine RN Sue Cannon to the group of private insurance companies. "They take billions in premiums from us, pay themselves lavishly, and lobby Congress to do their bidding. That money should be going into healthcare." NATIONAL J U LY 2 0 0 6 Labor unions, stumping politicians, and healthcare reform groups staged rallies and teach-ins that day in cities in every state in the nation. —miranda everitt LANDSLIDE YES VOTE IN MODESTO ne of California's largest remaining nonunion hospitals voted June 29 to join the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee. Some 850 RNs at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, a Tenet Healthcare Corporation hospital, voted 400-263 in favor of representation by the union. "It's kind of like having a baby," said Sue Boyer, a postpartum RN at DMC and organizing activist. "Everyone's so relieved. And we feel cohesive, like we have a voice." Nurses at DMC have been determined to unionize for years. Since the last attempt two years ago, RN Patty Hulst has worn her CNA pin every day to show her support. Boyer said nurses changed their minds this time around partly because they sensed growing instability at their workplace: they were uneasy that the hospital failed to offer raises this past year and only recently hired a chief executive officer. Nurses are also concerned about staying competitive once Kaiser Permanente, whose RNs will by agreement be represented by CNA/NNOC, builds its new hospital in the Modesto area. O Contract negotiations will begin as soon as election results are certified by the National Labor Relations Board. Nurses met within a week to gather nominations for bargaining team members, and will soon make a demand for the same standards and model contract other Tenet RNs have achieved, including an 8 percent across-the-board increase. They will also enter negotiations on local issues, as well as join their Tenet RN colleagues in contract talks later this year. CNA/NNOC represents 3,000 RNs at seven Tenet hospitals in California, with another 2,000 RNs at former Tenet facilities. The DMC win marks CNA/NNOC's seventh win in 13 months. —miranda everitt CALIFORNIA W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G REGISTERED NURSE 9

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