Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/447263
News | Briefs ■ ■ ■ 4 M A Y 2 0 0 5 C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E N ot two days after a massive April 5 protest at a Schwarzenegger fundraiser in San Francisco, dur- ing which donors were forced to wade through a crowd of angry nurses, teach- ers, firefighters, and cops to enter, the governor withdrew his controversial proposal to privatize state workers' pensions. Just for now, warn CNA leaders and allies. Schwarzenegger will regroup and likely revive the 401(k) idea, just as he vowed to press on for his dis- mantling of RN-to-patient ratios despite court rulings against him and for his proposed elimination of the Board of Registered Nursing. "CNA is proud that the nurses of California have exposed the disparity between the governor's rhetoric and his record of promoting an agenda that solely benefits his cor- porate donors," said Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of CNA. "But the fight does not end here." The 401(k) proposal was just one of several other contentious initiatives he wants to put up for a vote in a spe- cial election later this year. Those include a plan to pay teachers based on how well their students score on tests, despite the teachers working with drastically different student pop- ulations; a plan to trigger across-the- board budget cuts when revenues drop; and a plan to have judges redraw legislative districts. Schwarzenegger and the business- controlled political committee Citizens to Save California are raising $50 mil- lion, and by some accounts $100 mil- lion, to pay for the signature gatherers and media blitz that will be necessary to pass these ballot initiatives. The gov- ernor has been hosting fundraising din- ners across the state, with some donors paying as much as $100,000 for a seat at his table. CNA has called on Schwarzeneg- ger to abandon these proposals and work with legislators and groups repre- senting working people to craft reforms that will help the larger public, not just corporations and the wealthy. Thousands of demonstrators showed up April 5 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Stockton Street in San Fran- cisco to show their disapproval of Schwarzenegger's money machine. By late afternoon, nurses, teachers, par- ents, kids, fire fighters, police officers, other political activists, and a flatbed truck carrying a mobile soundstage had blocked off the stretch of Stockton in front of the hotel. By 5:30 p.m., pro- testors had lined the sidewalks of adjoining Pine Street, and flanked a side entrance that hotel staff was using to usher in dinner guests. "Shame on you!" chanted the crowd in unison as a procession of black Lincoln Towncars or the occa- sional Cadillac SUV or Lexus pulled up to the door. Seminal Protest Forces Governor to Back Off, For Now Thousands of demonstrators showed up April 5 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Stockton Street in San Francisco to show their disapproval of Schwarzenegger's money machine.