Schwartznegger on Hannity and Combs tonight..

Nurses Activism

Published

In case anyone is interested, I just saw an ad for Hannity and Combs on Fox News Channel tonight saying that Arnold will be on tonight. In a few minutes, actually. Have no idea what the discussion will be, or if there will be any mention of the situation with nurses.

Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
Well I live in south carolina where no nursing unions exist.

I am not saying that CA is a bad place to work I am just saying that everyone who thinks that unions are good, need to look at these statistics.

And how is the pay in SC???????

And the statistics bear out that ratios are working. As well, as studies show that patients are safer with that ratio in place.

You know safety...or is patient safety not important?

And how is the pay in SC???????

And the statistics bear out that ratios are working. As well, as studies show that patients are safer with that ratio in place.

You know safety...or is patient safety not important?

That's why Southern nurses flock here (CA and OR) in DROVES when there is a strike---because their pay in the South is so lousy that they see a chance to reap a whole bunch of $$$$, real fast, and the hell with their brother and sister RNs who are out on the strike lines in those states. The hell with patient safety, too.

That's when they claim that they are here to "take care of the patients--" yet, the striking nurses are OUT on the strike line BECAUSE patient safety is suboptimal, as are working conditions. Witness the recent Sutter strike across Northern CA---when the CA RNs were out on the strike lines protesting Arnold trying to mess with our ratios. A huge influx of RNs from the South moved right in and crossed strike lines without batting their eyelashes.

Bottom line for those Southern RNs who'd cross state lines--even taking vacation time from their own JOBS-- to cross a strike line? Greed, greed, and more greed. It has NOTHING to do with patient safety.

I practice (dragonboating) across from The Marriott, where they put up strike company RNs when OHSU was on strike a few years ago. Sometimes before or after practice we'd go over to the Marriott for a beer. You would see those darkened buses--big, chartered buses---pull up and either pick up or unload strike nurses. Nearly all of them that we saw had deep, telltale Southern accents, and we all commented on it (and my teammates are not nurses, so they were unaware who all these people were, until I told them. When I told them what they were here to do, they were horrified and disgusted.) Their co-ordinators, or whatever they called them, herded them through the lobby like sheep, and they all chattered up a storm, including the co-ordinators, who ALSO had deep Southern accents. They were hard to miss or ignore.

Greed, greed, greed. If the South is so great without unions, why didn't they stay there and take care of their own patients? No, they'd rather capitalize on their opportunity to cross strike lines full of picketing UNION nurses who were the ones responsible for existing wages---often not high enough for OR or CA, but a fortune to those nurses who live in the South---in the first place.

I know an RN from KY who has been doing nothing BUT strike nursing since she got out of nursing school, at age 21, in 1995. Her boyfriend wants her to come home, get married and settle down and have a family--but the greed has gotten to her, too. She just can't seem to stop. It's really kind of sad, as she is not the same person I knew when I first met her, before she started doing strike nursing. U.S. Nursing destroyed her value system, then their clone Fastaff, and a long string of others since.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20050310-9999-1b10nurses.html

Group says governor cheated nurses

Issue is over funds paid to hospitals

By Sarah Skidmore

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

March 10, 2005

The California Nurses Association yesterday accused Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration of improperly paying hospitals $27.4 million in the past year that the group said should have been used to increase nurse staffing.

The association said the administration took money earmarked for increasing nurse staffing requirements and distributed it to hospitals as Medi-Cal payment rate increases - though the administration argued that the money was never tied solely to the staffing ratios.

The allegation is the latest escalation in an ongoing struggle between the nurses group and the governor's administration over nurse-to-patient ratios, which the state first required in January 2004.

A steeper ratio was scheduled to take effect in January, but the governor's administration issued an emergency order in November postponing the increase until 2008, saying it posed a threat to the health care system because of a lack of nurses to fill the need.

Yesterday, the nursing association said it was "outraged" at the "highly questionable" payments. The CNA and several state legislators are asking the administration to account for its use of the money.

"We are shocked," said Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the group. "The specter of impropriety is unavoidable. This raises serious questions that demand investigation."

But the California Department of Health Services, which handled the transfer of funds, said the money was handled appropriately. Spokesman Ken August said the money was earmarked for Medi-Cal rate negotiations from the beginning.

Medi-Cal rate negotiations are handled by an independent body, and rates are not public. August said negotiations take into account several conditions including, but not limited to, the impact of staffing ratios. The state also said the rates were set before the effective date of the emergency order.

The nursing association vehemently opposed the decision to postpone the steeper ratios, saying the administration was influenced by the hospital industry. The group has picketed at movie premiers and fund-raising events, and it recently sued the state challenging the order. A Sacramento County Superior Court supported the nurses' position, saying the governor violated the law when he issued the order.

The state and the California Hospital Association said they plan to fight the ruling after the court's decision is finalized.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-video10mar10,1,4427658.story?coll=la-headlines-california

March 10, 2005

Aides Concede More Mock News Videos

- Tapes praise governor's proposals on nurse staffing, teachers. Legislators plan probe.

By Dan Morain, Times Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO-A week after Democratic legislators faulted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for using taxpayer money to produce "propaganda" in the form of a mock news video, the administration on Wednesday acknowledged making several others to advance its policies.

A state senator intends to question officials today about the funding and distribution of the videos.

Initially, legislators focused on one tape extolling an administration proposal to end mandatory lunch breaks for hourly workers. But additional videos have surfaced in which the administration is promoting a cut in the number of nurses required on duty in hospitals, pay for teachers based on merit rather than seniority and a more stringent tenure track.

A video was also produced on Schwarzenegger's plan to lower prescription drug prices, but it has not been released. Officials said it was a draft.

The other tapes, formatted as television news stories, were sent to stations statewide starting in December. Some news outlets aired portions of the video about lunch breaks, which state officials, who monitored usage of the tape, characterized as a news release.

Officials did not track which television stations used the merit pay and tenure video, and it is unclear if they monitored use of the tapes on nurses. They described both tapes as news releases....

...Democratic legislators accuse the governor of using tax money to finance his ballot measure campaign.

"This truly is a blending of all the lines: it's propaganda; it's campaigns. It is all meshed into one," state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) said Wednesday. She is scheduled to convene a hearing today and intends to question officials from the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, which produced the tape on lunch breaks....

...Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) contends that the videos violate a statute that prohibits tax-funded propaganda.

...The tapes follow a format: A written introduction offers suggested opening lines to be read by television news anchors. A state employee, who previously worked as a reporter for a Sacramento television station, is the narrator.

Each video includes interviews with advocates for the proposals. The tapes do not acknowledge dissenting views or offer balance as required in news accounts....

..."[schwarzenegger] is entitled to do a campaign piece, but he should pay for it with his own money," Goldberg said. "It's the best propaganda money can buy. It is one-sided and no one can disagree with him."

The video on nurse staffing also involved a controversy.

Last year, the Republican governor rolled back a requirement that hospitals begin providing one nurse for every five patients, rather than one nurse for six patients. In the tape, Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe dismisses criticism that the administration position endangers patients as "scare tactics."

Last week, ruling in a lawsuit filed by the California Nurses Assn. to overturn Schwarzenegger's order, a Sacramento judge said the governor acted illegally and the newer ratios must be enforced

Specializes in Critical Care/ICU.

March 10, 2005

Aides Concede More Mock News Videos

Tapes praise governor's proposals on nurse staffing, teachers. Legislators plan probe.

Arnold belongs in jail.

And how is the pay in SC???????

And the statistics bear out that ratios are working. As well, as studies show that patients are safer with that ratio in place.

You know safety...or is patient safety not important?

actually my pay compared to the standard of living here which is a lot less than ca. is great. I am not complaining at all. And as far as patient safety goes, yes that is important and I feel like the patients at the hospital I work at are very safe. Patient safety sounds great when discussing why unions do what they do but that doesn't seem to be on many peoples minds when the unions go on strike. As far as the comment about the southern nurses becoming strike nurses. Why not? If you guys can't take care of the pt's because of a strike, someone has to. Would you rather see the pt's not get taken care of. That shows a real concern for the pt.

Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

Would people please kill the "Greedy Southerners specialize in breaking strikes" line?

I know plenty of Northerners that love to break strikes and plenty of Southerners that would never dream of doing so.

And I have seen plenty of real Southerners without an accent, and transplants from yankee states or borderliners that have one thick as syrup.

I regret that you have had a bad experience with Southerners. I have had some really nasty experiences with unions/Californians but I don't paint them all with the same brush.

And as I have lived in GA, I am aware of SC's payrates. While the comment about cost of living in Cali is fitting, in comparison to many other states with similar costs of living to SC....the pay is generally less in SC.

Specializes in Critical Care/ICU.
As far as the comment about the southern nurses becoming strike nurses. Why not?

Don't know if you've ever lost a loved one in a hospital environment where the ratio went as high as one RN to 10-12 patients?! Did the loss have something to do with the ratios? Probably contributory - this is a fact. I would never wish this upon anyone (the family or the nurse), but I think you have a lot to learn and experience.

I'll tell you what. When it comes right down to it, the folks who work stikes are simply riding the coattails of those who put their families and their livelihoods on the line to fight for a better environment for themselves and their patients. Healthcare is downright dangerous and frightening in this country and things need to change. IMO, scabs are just "yes" men and women who do what's best for them and them only with no regard for the general principle of what's right or wrong for the nursing and patient population and the community as a whole.

Really, those who detest unions and come here and knock those unions have some nerve! While in the process of fighting for better patient care, the memberships of unions put money in the pockets of scabs and allow scabs to enjoy the cushy work environment that they get when they are utilized by hospitals that don't respect the assessments of the delivery of patient care by the professional nurses who run their hospitals! Hospitals put their patient's lives on the line in this process.

Unions react, they do not create the problems. The hospitals and politicians like arnold create these problems. Unions have done nothing but good for CA nurses and patients. All the unions. CNA is the most public with the largest membership, but there are other unions who protect and serve their membership under the direction of thier membership. They are an avenue for change with proven results. Show me another way and I'm more than happy to consider it.

ERNurse listen, I have respect for anyone who does not wish to belong to a union. That's your choice. I cannot respect your words however. They sting and smack of division.

I dunno, if you can live with yourself, more power to ya! Whether you like it or not, you benefit from unions no matter where you stand.

Lift teams are now mandated in Hospitals by CA law.

Can you tell me more about this. How much money are they paid for example, compared to your nursing techs/aides?? How does their system work, beeper, first called, first answered?? How many work per day/weekends/shifts??? Who are they responsible to???

As far as the comment about the southern nurses becoming strike nurses. Why not? If you guys can't take care of the pt's because of a strike, someone has to. Would you rather see the pt's not get taken care of. That shows a real concern for the pt.

No, what is SHOWS is greed, greed, GREED. Pure and simple.

Let management take care of the patients, since they are not union. Let the greedy strike breakers who cross state lines to cross picket lines stay home and take care of their OWN patients, so that the strikes that we find necessary will accomplish their task in as little time as possible, and WE can get back to doing safe patient care.

Tell you what. Next time someone responding here comes to OR or CA to bust a strike, volunteer the information to the patients that you are "taking care of" that you are here from another state and have crossed a strike line. Watch the expression on his or her face, and let me know just how "appreciated" your efforts are. You aren't fooling anyone, including the patients---they know your agenda, and your agenda is entirely self-serving.

Would people please kill the "Greedy Southerners specialize in breaking strikes" line?

I know plenty of Northerners that love to break strikes and plenty of Southerners that would never dream of doing so.

And I have seen plenty of real Southerners without an accent, and transplants from yankee states or borderliners that have one thick as syrup.

I regret that you have had a bad experience with Southerners. I have had some really nasty experiences with unions/Californians but I don't paint them all with the same brush.

And as I have lived in GA, I am aware of SC's payrates. While the comment about cost of living in Cali is fitting, in comparison to many other states with similar costs of living to SC....the pay is generally less in SC.

I have nothing against Southerners--my husband is from Georgia. I was not making fun of anyone's accent, either. I was merely pointing out how we were able to recognize the majority of the strikebreakers as being Southern--by their accents.

The point I was trying to make is that the lowest paying states---those in the South--are also the states that are vehemently non-union, and the nurses from those states, particularly on this BB, tend to trash unions and criticize the nurses from out West who are union nurses. They constantly mock CNA and those of us who have walked strike lines to make mandated RN to patient ratios a reality. Yet, come a strike, they are the ones tripping over themselves to come out here and work in the hospitals where we are once again out on picket lines, for good cause. Why can we depend on the support of other unions--firefighters, electricians, plumbers--and not our own brother and sister RNs, who want to capitalize on our battle and benefit monetarily from it? Call it whatever you want, it's just plain greed.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
I have nothing against Southerners--my husband is from Georgia. I was not making fun of anyone's accent, either. I was merely pointing out how we were able to recognize the majority of the strikebreakers as being Southern--by their accents.

The point I was trying to make is that the lowest paying states---those in the South--are also the states that are vehemently non-union, and the nurses from those states, particularly on this BB, tend to trash unions and criticize the nurses from out West who are union nurses. They constantly mock CNA and those of us who have walked strike lines to make mandated RN to patient ratios a reality. Yet, come a strike, they are the ones tripping over themselves to come out here and work in the hospitals where we are once again out on picket lines, for good cause. Why can we depend on the support of other unions--firefighters, electricians, plumbers--and not our own brother and sister RNs, who want to capitalize on our battle and benefit monetarily from it? Call it whatever you want, it's just plain greed.

What??? I haven't seen any particular trend on this BB or anywhere which shows that Southerners on this board are trashing CNA. This Southerner in particular has been VERY supportive of CNA. Just because you have observed a few Southerners breaking strike lines, (or people you assumed to be Southerners) does not mean that Southerners in general are a bunch of greedy hypocrites. How absurd. I GUARANTEE you that strikebreakers come from all over the country. :rolleyes:

By the way, what is your position on the large number of Californians who have come on this board to complain about the CNA? Do you have any crass generalizations to make about them?

I have attended NTI in New Orleans and Atlanta. Critical care nurses from many states, territories, and Canada praised CNA.

I believe most teachers, police, and firefighters in Atlanta are union members with defined benefit pension plans.

Am I right?

OK - about Arnold:

http://www.arnoldwatch.org/

ArnoldWatch Web Log: - Mar 11, 2005

The War of the Words

by: Carmen Balber

In 1938, Orson Welles' dramatization of "The War of the Worlds" sent American radio listeners into a panic when late-comers to the realistic broadcast were convinced that Martians were attacking New Jersey. Welles later apologized, concerned that anyone mistook the fictional dramatization for reality.

67 years later, Arnold has no such qualms about using fake media reports to deceive the public -- or spending taxpayer funds to do it.

The gov has used tax dollars to produce at least four fake news reports to advance the governor's political agenda that look and sound like real stories, featuring the actor-in-chief himself. But, just as Welles' 1938 broadcast would be unbelievable if heard today, the governor's nonsensical scripts don't have a plausible storyline.

According to Arnold's "news casts," lunch hour rules opposed by employee groups will "mean that [workers] can eat when they're hungry." Staffing rules opposed by nurses because they don't meet patient safety standards are "intended to assure patient safety... and improve nursing work conditions." Boards now required to meet in the open would be "more publicly accessible" when under the governor's exclusive control.

These Hollywood fictions don't report that the governor's proposals are opposed by the real people they effect and are designed to benefit the governor's big industry contributors.

It's bad enough when the gov raises $80,000 a day from big business, then turns around and promotes those industry donors' agenda in a special interest extra election. But it's inexcusable that taxpayer dollars are paying for Arnold's propaganda.

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