National Nurses United

The next day, nurses heard from a panel of RNs from around the globe about the healthcare situations in their countries. Just as nurses are often amazed when they talk with nurses from other states by their identical concerns, many RNs realized that nurses across the world are facing similar chal- lenges. These include opposing globalization and austerity "bud- get cut" measures for healthcare, resisting privatization, helping nurses improve working conditions and win ratios, and securing national, universal healthcare for all residents. Dora Saldaña, a 33-year nurse with the Sindicato Nacional de los Trabajadores de Salud in Guatemala, talked about how dire the situation is in her county when 1 into 2 children under the age of 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition. Judith Kiedja from the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association in Australia talked about how their current government is trying to privatize everything and selling off public hospitals. "Health is not a product for sale like a commodity," said Marios Pantzalis of the Greek nurses union PASONOP. "It is a human right, and nurses have to protect and defend it." Jocelyn Andamo of the group Alliance of Health Workers in the Philippines talked about mass unemployment and extremely low nurse wages at home. She ultimately declared, "The struggle for health is the struggle for social justice." That theme was picked up again in the panel on social union- ism, which is the concept that unions should not just advocate for their own members, but for the greater good of all of society. For CNA/NNOC nurses, this can mean traveling to the Philippines as part of the Registered Nurse Response Network to help care for victims of Typhoon Haiyan, or educating the public about why we need to expand Medicare for all, or lobbying in your city to raise the minimum wage, or preventing the oil industry from polluting your neighborhood. "People sometimes ask me why nurses care about raising the minimum wage," said Audrina Bovan, an RN who is working in El Paso, Texas, to raise the minimum wage from $7.50 to $15 per hour. "I tell them we care because it affects our patients. Low wages are not healthy for our community." She recounted how, as a nursing student, she didn't have enough gas money to get to school and didn't have health insurance coverage until she got her first real nursing job at age 24. No gathering of CNA/NNOC nurses can happen without an action, and the 2014 convention, with about 2,000 RNs in atten- dance, was no exception. Under the blazing Nevada sun, RNs staged a dramatic "die-in" on the sidewalk in front of the famous Bellagio fountains to protest the lack of U.S. and international support for West African nations battling the dreaded Ebola virus. While many RNs lay on the concrete, other nurses dressed in coveralls chalked around their bodies, leaving a crime scene- like outline. RNs Christine Ann Erickson and Marlita Clymer were dressed in the bunny suits and got a taste of how stifling and hot it must feel to be one of the Ebola caregivers in West Africa. "It's really hot and sticky," said Erickson. "It would be even worse with a hood, booties, and gloves. You would just feel like you're suffocating. And this is a fraction of what they go through." The nurses were also treated to discussions with special guests commentator Jim Hightower, journalist John Nichols, and U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, and a performance by rock musician and union sup- porter Tom Morello. All three received awards from the organization S E P T E M B E R | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 17 ON EARTH topics they won't encounter anywhere else Clockwise from left: Convention delegates voting; an RN "dying" during Ebola protest; RNs gather for their Ebola action on the Vegas Strip.

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