Nurses Condemn Illinois Governor’s Anti-Worker Executive Order

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

February 10, 2015.

National Nurses United, the largest organization of nurses in the U.S. and in Illinois late Monday condemned an executive order by new Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner that is intended to dismantle public employee unions, that nurses warn could cause serious harm to public health and safety.

Under the façade of protecting employee free speech, the governor's real goal is to decimate public employee unions, eliminate their ability to challenge his corporate agenda, and seriously erode the ability of public workers to speak out when public protections are at risk,” said NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro.

It is no coincidence that this is one of the first acts of Gov. Rauner, a down payment to the most far right segments of American policies, such as the Koch Brothers, Wall Street, and other billionaire interests who helped elect him. But it is an enormous disservice to all Illinois residents and could cause an avalanche of harm,” DeMoro said.

Nurses, emergency responders, child welfare advocates, and public servants who enforce public oversight and regulatory protections are among the many groups of workers threatened by the order,” said Martese Chism, a Chicago registered nurse and board member for National Nurses Organizing Committee-Illinois, an NNU affiliate.

Without the protection of their union, nurses in public hospitals and clinics would be restricted from speaking out about unsafe hospital and clinic conditions, public servants who enforce public oversight and regulatory protections would be hamstrung in their ability to confront corporate attacks on safety standards, child welfare advocates would have less protection from retaliation for putting the interests of children first,” said Chism...

... Nurses will never be silent in the face of attacks on their rights to advocate for public health and safety, or their right to form unions and act collectively for their own livelihood and working conditions,” said DeMoro. NNU and nurses know how to fight, and we know how to win.”..

Nurses Condemn Illinois Governor's Anti-Worker Executive Order

[JoseQuinones]

Public sector unions are the lion and the coyote discussing which lamb to have for dinner. They are a disgrace to any democracy.

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

In, 20 of 24 key measures affecting public health and safety, right to work” states rank lower on average in poverty rates of children, infant morality, cardiovascular deaths, access to primary care physicians and mental health services, infectious disease control, occupational fatalities, and many other factors compiled by America's Health Rankings

2014 - Americas Health Rankings report - State Health Statistics brought to you by AmericasHealthRankings.org..

[ArmyMedicRN]

No respect for unions. "We know how to win"??? What kind of crap is that. Always know how to manipulate an argument.."patient safety." Go away and good riddance. Our patients are way more safe than having union nurses who are subpar and fire-proof working on your loved ones....and our pay/benefits are spectacular without any collective bargaining. Just stop with this non-sense.

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

Yes we together know how to win. Thousands of us together, union and non union nurses won safe staffing codified in the law for our patients.

We had to win against Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's executive order to eliminate the ratios in the ER and other units. He was considered too popular to protest, but we did it for our patients.

The new Illinois governor wants to lower the minimum wage and get rid of unions. Illinois nurses have a long proud history of patient and social advocacy.

CNA/NNOC/NNU nurses can and will work to keep the right to speak out for their patients and blow the whistle on unsafe practices.

The California Nurses Association RN union's historic first in the nation Safe Staffing RN Ratios law took nearly 13 years to win and has been in effect since January 2004 despite continued efforts of the hospital industry and then Governor Schwarzenegger to have it overturned or otherwise weakened.

When Governor Schwarzenegger decided to roll back CNA's staffing ratios and called nurses a "special interest who don't like me because I'm always kicking their butt,"

CNA ignited a broad grassroots movement that led to the sweeping November 2005 electoral defeat for the Governor's special election initiatives.

Two days later, Schwarzenegger dropped his year-long fight against the ratios.

Safe RN ratios have improved quality of care and nurse recruitment and retention in California hospitals.

Scientific research shows that our California ratios are saving lives. Two examples:

State-Mandated Nurse Staffing Levels Lead to Lower Patient Mortality and Higher Nurse Satisfaction -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, September 26, 2012

The California safe staffing law has increased nurse staffing levels and created more reasonable workloads for nurses in California hospitals, leading to fewer patient deaths and higher levels of job satisfaction than in other states without mandated staffing ratios. Despite initial concerns from opponents, the skill mix of nurses used by California hospitals has not declined since implementation of the mandated ratios.

Implications of the California Nurse Staffing Mandate for Other States --Health Services Research, August 2010

The researchers surveyed 22,336 RNs in California and two comparable states, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with striking results, including:

If they matched California state-mandated ratios in medical and surgical units, New Jersey hospitals would have 13.9 percent fewer patient deaths and Pennsylvania 10.6 percent fewer deaths.

Because all hospitalized patients are likely to benefit from improved nurse staffing, not just general surgery patients, the potential number of lives that could be saved by improving nurse staffing in hospitals nationally is likely to be many thousands a year,” according to Linda Aiken, the study's lead author.

California RNs report having significantly more time to spend with patients, and their hospitals are far more likely to have enough RNs on staff to provide quality patient care. Fewer California RNs say their workload caused them to miss changes in patient conditions than New Jersey or Pennsylvania RNs

Now the Movement To Win Ratios is National

RNs in states throughout the country are actively working with CNA/NNU to win their own mandated direct-care RN-to-patient staffing ratios. Building upon the success achieved by CNA/NNU in California, RNs in Illinois, Florida, Missouri, Texas, the District of Columbia, and elsewhere are actively organizing in support of Hospital Patient Protection Acts in their states.

• There can be no compromise on the need for mandated, minimum RN staffing ratios.
  
• RNs must take a highly visible, very public lead in this fight.
  
• The alliance that counts is between RNs, patients, and the public.
  
• RNs must act collectively in support of ratios.
  

[JoseQuinones]

And taking away your "right" to pick the pockets of nurses who don't want to join your union stops you from doing all that how, exactly? Your apocalyptic pronouncements look increasingly outdated as state after state stops listening to the distortions and naked politics of the public sector unions. Everyone knows the unions are just another arm of the DNC and the union bosses go golfing with the party jet set. It is an incestuous relationship that is offensive to the rank and file nurses who bust their buns to pay fees for "representation."

You want to organize? Fine by me. It's your right. But leave me out of it. If I want to donate to the Democrat party, I can send them the check directly.

[Mindful, RN]

... Unions built the Middle Class, fella

[Mindful, RN]

... unions built the middle class !