On the picket line
By
Sue Davis
Published Jul 22, 2005 6:10 PM
California nurses vote to strike July 21
Some 9,000
registered nurses who work for University of California hospitals voted
overwhelmingly to reject the contract offered by UC administrators and called a
one-day strike for July 21. The nurses belong to the California Nurses
Association (CNA), representing 60,000 RNs, most of them women.
Issues of
retirement security, staffing and a “safe-lift” policy—all
demands attacked previously by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger—are at stake.
Schwarzenegger wants to privatize pensions for all state workers, and UC wants
to mandate 8 percent of the workers’ pay be automatically put into the
pension system. The CNA wants no changes in nurses’ pensions, retiree
health or other benefits.
The CNA insists that a safe staffing ratio be
included in the UC contract. Last year the governor postponed the implementation
of a one-to-five RN-to-patient staffing ratio law from 2005 to 2008. Even though
the Sacra mento Supreme Court overturned the governor’s order in June,
Schwarzenegger re-filed an identical emergency order in early July to reject the
staffing change.
In addition to competitive wages, the nurses are
demanding a “safe-lift” policy. Schwarzenegger vetoed such a
CNA-sponsored bill last year. Government labor statistics show that nursing
personnel lead the U.S. in work-related back injuries, with 37.5 percent more
than truck drivers. Surveys show 52 percent of all nurses report chronic back
pain.
“Failure to listen to what nurses need to care for their
patients and families will lead to a revolving door of inadequate care,”
said nurse negotiator Maureen Dugan in a July 8 CNA press release. The release
noted that four CNA leaders were suspended after the strike vote, though such
anti-worker retaliation is illegal.
Qwest workers in tough
negotiations
Communication mega-corporation Qwest claimed it needed to
“save money” and wanted givebacks in health care, work hours and job
conditions from 25,000 workers represented by the Communications Workers of
America. But the union bargainers shot back: “We didn’t make this
mess—you did.”
With the contract set to expire Aug. 13, the
workers are gearing up for a big fight. The CWA says the “retrogressive
bargaining demands” include eliminating pension and retiree health
coverage for new hires. Designed to divide and conquer, that tactic is another
way to cheat workers out of what they earn.
Three class action law suits
Utility workers in California, African American
truck drivers in Arkansas and workers on TV reality shows are taking legal
action to defend their rights.
Workers at the Southern California Gas
Company have filed a federal suit to stop changes made in their pension fund in
1998. They charge that the changes violate federal and state laws against age
discrimination, as well as a federal provision requiring companies to notify
workers in advance of benefit reductions. The July 11 New York Times noted that
reinstating the former pension plan would be “very costly” for the
company.
African American truck drivers filed a federal suit on July 12
against Wal-Mart, charging that the company discriminated against them by
denying them jobs because of their race. Statistics show that only 2 percent to
3 percent of Wal-Mart drivers are Black, compared with 15 percent of all highway
truck drivers. One driver applied for positions at Wal-Mart 22 times between
1998 and 2004 and was turned down for “illegitimate reasons” each
time.
The Writers Guild of America, West, filed a federal suit on July 7
on behalf of nearly 1,000 workers who edit and produce reality TV shows. These
workers toil for long hours at low wages with no health or pension benefits,
unlike their counterparts on scripted TV shows. Broadcast and production
companies, which include ABC, CBS, Turner and WB, instruct workers to falsify
time cards so as not to reflect actual overtime hours they worked. For example,
one worker logged 84 hours but was paid a flat rate of $7.41 per hour.
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