National Nurses United

A P R I L 2 0 0 6 W W W . C A L N U R S E S . O R G C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E 7 In mid-March, CNA Exec- utive Director Rose Ann DeMoro was honored with a Public Service Award by one of the nation's best- known consumer advoca- cy groups, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, partly in recognition of the CNA's leading role in the challenge to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The event brought together 500 of the state's most prominent leaders of the con- sumer movement, film community, and lead- ing elected officials. Actor, director, producer Warren Beatty introduced DeMoro, saying she "represents that which is best in political and social activism," and there is "no better organizer, no better spokesperson in the labor movement in the country." Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was also honored at the dinner as public official of the year, said that DeMoro and CNA "single-handedly demonstrated that nurses are to be contended with." Following are excerpts from her acceptance speech: I n November, 2004, Arnold Schwarze- negger was perhaps the most famous politician in the world. He stood at near- ly 70 percent in the polls, had raised tens of millions in campaign contributions, and had just used his fame to get George Bush reelected. He was riding high, belittling any opposition, calling them "losers," "girlie men," and "stooges." Then Schwarzenegger decided, on behalf of his healthcare corporate donors, to roll back our hard-won law requiring hospitals to have enough registered nurses to safely take care of their patients. Almost everyone (was) telling us this governor is too popular, too powerful, to be challenged. The nurses of California did not agree. They would not let this governor deny them the right to care for their patients. Nurses are used to fighting; they have to fight everyday against their administrators, the HMOs, and often the doctors to make sure their patients get the care they need. So it didn't matter that others thought he was unassailable. The nurses just took their fight from the hospitals to the streets. And suddenly, the world changed. We forced the media to look beyond Schwarzenegger 's wardrobe and into his cash register politics. Our coalition of nurses, teachers, firefighters, of course FTCR, and Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, unions and consumer groups had a deep sense of resolve, knowing that this was a battle that had to be won. The stakes were high. If Arnold's celebri- ty and the money of his corporate backers could buy an election, then California, and America, would never be the same. Our collective victory gave everyday peo- ple hope and showed that through organiz- ing and mobilization, we can win. And we must not stop. We won a thrilling victory in November. But think about this: More than $317 million dollars was wasted on a special election that nobody wanted except Arnold's corporate backers. $317 million, while low- income and minority neigh- borhoods are seeing a sharp rise in home foreclosures. $317 million, while some communities that depend on manufacturing jobs look like they've been hit with satura- tion bombing and entire oc- cupations are unemployed. $317 million, which could have been used to hire 40,000 more teachers at a time when we are facing dis- graceful overcrowding in our classrooms. Why is it that somehow our elected leaders can't find the time or resources to address this national night- mare? But they can find time to enact a bill written by the credit card companies to make it harder for people facing financial ruin to declare bankruptcy? And they can find time to give more tax breaks to the oil companies at a time when our gas prices are rising? And they can find time to pass a Medicare bill whose primary function seems to be to further enrich the HMOs and the drug com- panies? And they are very busy trying to privatize our retirement security? They would like us to believe that we are powerless. Last year, we shed a spotlight on the cor- ruption of our political system. It is time for all of us to participate in reversing these dis- graceful priorities, and disrupt the cycle of corruption that fosters this system. The nurses learned a lifetime lesson in the battle with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Rose Ann DeMoro Executive Director, CNA/NNOC Challenging corporations for the health of our kids and beyond Fightin' Words (continued on page 11) CNA/NNOC Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro is flanked by fellow Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights awardees Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles mayor, and R. Browne Greene, a Santa Monica attorney.

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