Nurses Rally in DC scheduled for May 6th

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

Howdy Yall

from deep in the heart of texas

For the life of me, I cant even begin to fathom why nurses would want to unionize. Unions dont accomplish that much and only seem to serve the people who run the unions themselves.

To me Unionization equates to a dictatorship of mediocrity.

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

Howdy Yall

from deep in the heart of texas

For the life of me, I cant even begin to fathom why nurses would want to unionize. Unions dont accomplish that much and only seem to serve the people who run the unions themselves.

To me Unionization equates to a dictatorship of mediocrity.

-jt

2,709 Posts

We're getting a little side tracked in this thread. Maybe another could be started for anyone wanting to have the union vs non-union argument.

Back to the subject here - upcoming Nurses Week actions to fight for national safe staffing ratio laws for all nurses and pts - something any & every nurse can do, no matter their affiliation:

Nurses Rally in DC scheduled for May 6th

Nurses Week: During National Nurses Week, May 4 -10, all across the country, the AFL-CIO Nurses, AFL-CIO unions and other nurses will hold meetings with lawmakers, join together in rallies and host other events to build support for state legislation to set safe staffing levels and restrict mandatory overtime in hospitals.

Nurses Day Rally in Washington, D.C.: On May 6, 2003, nurses from across the nation will take their demands for safe staffing and quality patient care to Congress. The results of a national public opinion survey about the effects of the nurse crisis on patient care will also be released at this time.

All are invited to join in the May 4 -10 rallies, meetings with lawmakers and other actions in their states across the country, and in the special lobbying day in Washington, D.C., on Nurses Day, May 6.

This event is organized by the United American Nurses (UAN) - the national RN-only labor union (the union branch of the ANA), and 6 other healthcare unions of the AFL-CIO, representing RNs, LPNs, and healthcare workers. Its part of our national campaign to fight for safe staffing......

You dont have to be a union member to participate in these statewide legislative Nurses Week events and the Rally in DC - all you have to have is a desire to do something about obtaining safe staffing in this country.

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35731

-jt

2,709 Posts

We're getting a little side tracked in this thread. Maybe another could be started for anyone wanting to have the union vs non-union argument.

Back to the subject here - upcoming Nurses Week actions to fight for national safe staffing ratio laws for all nurses and pts - something any & every nurse can do, no matter their affiliation:

Nurses Rally in DC scheduled for May 6th

Nurses Week: During National Nurses Week, May 4 -10, all across the country, the AFL-CIO Nurses, AFL-CIO unions and other nurses will hold meetings with lawmakers, join together in rallies and host other events to build support for state legislation to set safe staffing levels and restrict mandatory overtime in hospitals.

Nurses Day Rally in Washington, D.C.: On May 6, 2003, nurses from across the nation will take their demands for safe staffing and quality patient care to Congress. The results of a national public opinion survey about the effects of the nurse crisis on patient care will also be released at this time.

All are invited to join in the May 4 -10 rallies, meetings with lawmakers and other actions in their states across the country, and in the special lobbying day in Washington, D.C., on Nurses Day, May 6.

This event is organized by the United American Nurses (UAN) - the national RN-only labor union (the union branch of the ANA), and 6 other healthcare unions of the AFL-CIO, representing RNs, LPNs, and healthcare workers. Its part of our national campaign to fight for safe staffing......

You dont have to be a union member to participate in these statewide legislative Nurses Week events and the Rally in DC - all you have to have is a desire to do something about obtaining safe staffing in this country.

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35731

This is the first I'm hearing about the rally. I won't be able to make it to DC, but if there's anything I can do here on the homefront (Ypsilanti, MI), please post and let me know. I've only been a nurse for a year but I want to do anything I can to help out.

This is the first I'm hearing about the rally. I won't be able to make it to DC, but if there's anything I can do here on the homefront (Ypsilanti, MI), please post and let me know. I've only been a nurse for a year but I want to do anything I can to help out.

-jt

2,709 Posts

>

A nurse for a year? Congratulations on getting thru the hardest part..... & sticking with it! Its great to see new nurses starting out so pro-active too. We need more like you. ;)

The Michigan Nurses Association is part of the UAN - one of the unions sponsoring the Nurses Day Rally in DC. It is also conducting events within your state during Nurses Week. Check their website periodically for details which should be posted soon: http://www.minurses.org

also, visit their government affairs page for info on what nurses are doing in your state legislature all year and how you can get involved on the homefront:

http://www.minurses.org/gov.shtml

-jt

2,709 Posts

>

A nurse for a year? Congratulations on getting thru the hardest part..... & sticking with it! Its great to see new nurses starting out so pro-active too. We need more like you. ;)

The Michigan Nurses Association is part of the UAN - one of the unions sponsoring the Nurses Day Rally in DC. It is also conducting events within your state during Nurses Week. Check their website periodically for details which should be posted soon: http://www.minurses.org

also, visit their government affairs page for info on what nurses are doing in your state legislature all year and how you can get involved on the homefront:

http://www.minurses.org/gov.shtml

pickledpepperRN

4,491 Posts

GO NURSES GO!

Call the local office of your Representatives and Senators to meet with their representatives. Your elected representative may even meet with you.

I imaging this is already part of the plan, but want to encourage all to do this.

They know nurses vote!

I'll be with you in spirit and looking to this BB for reports.

pickledpepperRN

4,491 Posts

Tomorrow is the big day!

I will call and e- mail my Senators and Representative that the people of the United States deserve

A NATIONAL safe staffing ratio law.

A ban on mandatory overtime.

(Who wants a nurse too fatigued to think straight?)

Remember

THE ONLY PURPOSE FOR A HOSPITAL IS NURSING CARE!

Everything else can be outpatient.

-jt

2,709 Posts

AFL-CIO Nurses Across the Country May 4-10, 2003

California: On May 8, SEIU Nurse Alliance members will converge at the state Capitol in Sacramento to lobby for the Safe Ratios Enforcement Act, which would protect quality care by ensuring hospitals comply with existing patient safety laws and regulations. _

Connecticut: AFT Healthcare locals will hold rallies and lobby state legislators in Hartford for legislation setting safe staffing levels and banning mandatory overtime._

Florida: On May 7 and 8, SEIU Nurse Alliance members from across south Florida will mark National Nurses Week by coming together at nurse summits in Boynton Beach and Miami. SEIU nurses are calling for passage of the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act of 2003, which would ensure minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in all Florida hospitals._

Illinois: The Illinois Nurses Association/United American Nurses will hold a forum for state and local lawmakers on the nursing shortage and nurse recruitment and retention strategies in Chicago._

Minnesota: _On May 7, in conjunction with School Nurses of Minnesota, the National Association of School Nurses, and Education Minnesota, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA)/UAN is hosting a media event and party in St. Paul. The program will feature the versatility of the nursing profession and highlights school nursing, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. MNA also will present funds toward scholarships for nursing. Multiple district-level events and celebrations also are planned across the state._

Missouri: AFT Healthcare nurses, joined by the mayor, legislators, nurses, clergy and area labor leaders, will rally at the Kansas City Hall for safe staffing levels. Mayor Kay Barnes declared May 5 Patient Care Day._

Nevada: With the momentum building from coast to coast for safe staffing legislation, SEIU nurses will gather at the Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas to speak out on behalf of the state's proposed staffing bill._

New Jersey: Health Professionals and Allied Employees/AFT will hold a press conference and luncheon for legislators, announce reintroduction of staffing bill and the results of staffing survey in Trenton._

New York: Nurses will send a message to legislators to pass the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act when 14 buses from across the state converge May 5 at a rally and lobbying event in Albany. In other events, Albany and Rochester nurses will hold a health fair, a nurse mentor forum and reception and several conferences. Nurses from AFT Healthcare locals in New York City will deliver two petitions for safe staffing (one for home care and one for acute care in hospitals) to the state Legislature. _The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA)/UAN is commemorating Nurses Week by presenting a statewide tour of a one-woman play, "Nurse!" about the challenges and triumphs of union nurses. The play is based on the experiences of NYSNA nurses at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, who went on strike for 120 days in 2001-2002 and won limits on mandatory overtime and new staffing ratios. Visit http://www.nysna.org to see a schedule of shows. The play makes its New York City debut at the José Quintero Theatre May 6-18 and runs from late April to late May at locations statewide._

Ohio: On May 10, Ohio Nurses Association/UAN in Ohio will mark Nurses Week with a 5K "Bodies in Motion/Start a Commotion" walk/run in Columbus. Proceeds will benefit the Ohio Nurses Foundation. Last year's race drew local media attention to the nurse staffing crisis in Ohio._

Oregon: Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals/AFT nurses will be interviewed May 5 on a local evening talk radio show on safe staffing levels. On May 6, Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals/AFT nurses will hold events acknowledging Kaiser Permanente's staffing language and street theater at Providence Milwaukie Hospital to demonstrate the impact of poor staffing levels on patient care._

Pennsylvania: On May 7, hundreds of SEIU nurses from across Pennsylvania will meet in Harrisburg to urge lawmakers to pass the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act, which would set safe staffing standards in hospitals throughout the state, and the Health Care Worker and Patient Protection Act, which would prohibit mandatory overtime for nurses and other health care employees._Healthcare-PSEA (Pennsylvania State Education Association)/AFT nurses will deliver postcards for safe staffing levels to the governor in Harrisburg._

Rhode Island: AFT nurses will deliver petitions on staffing levels to the state Legislature._

Washington, D.C.: May 6, 2003 Tuesday

Lobby in Washington DC for Safe Staffing and to Ban Mandatory Overtime

Join hundreds of nurses who will visit their legislators in Capitol Hill. A bipartisan bill -- Safe Staffing and Quality Care Act -- is pending in Congress. It would limit forcible overtime. Mandatory overtime is a growing practice to compensate for understaffing. But it contributes to lesser quality care and jeopardizes patient safety. Similar proposed legislation did not pass in previous sessions. By showing up in large numbers and by speaking to their own legislators, nurses from around the country can push enactment this year of this important legislation to protect their licences and their patients.

Hundreds of nurses from AFSCME United Nurses of America will convene in the District of Columbia for the 9th UNA National Nurses Congress. Events will feature education sessions with nationally known speakers, including the author of the landmark study on nurse staffing, Linda Aiken, as well as lobbying on Capitol Hill and opportunities to network with AFL-CIO Nurses from across the nation. UNA will honor an outstanding RN and an outstanding LPN/LVN_member who has made a significant contribution to nursing and to their union. _

Wisconsin: _A safe staffing bill will be introduced May 5 in the state Legislature. The Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals/AFT will hold a press conference and rally in Milwaukee with the bill's sponsors._On May 5, SEIU nurses will rally at the state Capitol to introduce a new bill that would set safe staffing standards for Wisconsin hospitals. As part of their "Nurses Night Out" in Madison, nurses will speak to legislators May 7 to urge the improvement of patient care conditions in the state.__

If you can't make it to the District of Columbia for the nurses lobby day, join nurses in local and state actions across the country. Contact the unions involved in the safe staffing campaign to find out how you can take part:

Visit their websites for more information:

AFGE;

AFSCME--United Nurses of America;

AFT--Healthcare;

Communications Workers of America;

SEIU--Nurse Alliance;

United American Nurses

United Food and Commercial Workers. _

http://www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/healthpolicy/nurses/index.cfm#aflcio_nurses

If you cant attend any of your statewide activities, you can still send a message Congress with one easy click of your mouse at:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/stand2003

_

-jt

2,709 Posts

see update

"Nurses Rally in DC gets results"

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