Extra Care from Nurses

Aren’t nurses great?  Well, almost always, except when they have a 12 gauge syringe and say, “This won’t hurt.”  On the whole, it’s hard to find a more caring, giving group of people.  Yesterday, they provided some extra care for all the people of America.  Their care was above and beyond the call of duty.

On Wednesday afternoon, June 22, a feisty group of 3,000 nurses, and their supporters from other unions and community groups, rallied at Federal Hall on Wall St. in New York City to confront the greedy banking industry and demand they pay tiny taxes on financial transactions to stop devastating budget cuts and finance health care for all.

In solidarity with the 40-nation International Days of Action, National Nurses United and their union and community allies–including the AFL-CIO, the UAW, The Transit Workers Union, UNITE HERE Local 100, Working Families Party, Jobs with Justice, NYPIRG,  and many more–used powerful speeches, spirited stories, skits, and songs to bring attention to their Main Street Contract, a vision for a more fair and just economy.  It includes as a centerpiece a bill supporters will soon introduce in Congress to tax the very transactions that led to the economic crisis.

It’s always fun to be at a rally with the nurses, who are unique in American labor for their enormous spirit, rollicking sense of humor, and some of the most creative and radical analyses of the failures of the U.S. system.  The nurses don’t mess around. They set a high standard for the American labor movement, challenging power and engaging the public with their spirited take on American politics, the rights of workers, and especially the needs of people who use the country’s health care system.  The nurses  are about protecting their patients as well as themselves, and America trusts and has enormous respect for its nurses, which enables the 170,000 National Nurses United to spread the word in ways that other unions are more challenged… [emphasis added]

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My sincere thanks and hope for success go out to the nurses and their union allies.