On the picket line

Calif. nurses take action and win victories

On the morning of Feb. 3, Blue Shield of California announced a 60-day reprieve on a rate hike of up to 59 percent on individual and family policies. But that didn’t stop nurses in the California Nurses Association, patients and consumer advocates from storming the company’s fancy headquarters in San Francisco that afternoon. As the Feb. 3 Healthcare-NOW! article about the protest noted: “We can learn a lesson from the streets of Egypt and other Arab countries. Public pressure is essential to confront tyranny, whether you are faced with political repression or corporate control of our health.”

Thousands of the members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United — registered nurses and nurse practitioners in northern and central California who work for Kaiser Permanente — approved an exemplary three-year contract. It covers 17,000 RNs and NPs in 21 hospitals and 40 medical office buildings. This contract is the single largest contract for nurses in the U.S. and provides, in addition to a 5 percent pay raise each year of the agreement, regional committees that will determine staffing based on patient need and fixed rotations to protect against arbitrary schedule changes. All health care and retirement benefits for current and retired employees are also protected. As Deborah Burger, CNA/NNU co-president, stated, “The contract raises the bar for other [hospital/medical] systems and puts pressure on them to work with their nurses to provide the best care you can.” (blog.aflcio.org, Feb. 11)

Ohio workers defend collective bargaining

Hundreds of Ohio nurses, sanitation workers, bus drivers, firefighters and other public employees packed a Feb. 8 state Senate hearing on a bill that would eliminate collective bargaining rights for all state workers, including faculty and staff at Ohio state colleges and universities. Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga, speaking clearly in opposition to the bill, pointed out that the bill’s backers aim to “scapegoat hard-working public service workers” instead of “focusing on solving the economic problems facing Ohio and creating family-sustaining jobs for the 500,000 Ohioans who still remain jobless.” Stay tuned. (blog.aflcio.org, Feb. 10)

S.F. Labor opposes Korean trade agreement

The San Francisco Labor Council voted Jan. 24 for a strongly worded resolution opposing the proposed U.S.-Korea so-called “free trade” agreement (KORUS). The resolution noted that KORUS was modeled on a similar agreement with Mexico that has led to the loss of jobs for millions of workers in both Mexico and the U.S. as well as to privatization, deregulation and repression of unions in Mexico. Noting that the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and other civil, human rights and worker organizations in Korea oppose KORUS, the resolution called on California congresspeople to vote against KORUS. It also asked its members to participate in an anti-KORUS march to the Korean Consulate on Jan. 29 and to support a Labor Community Educational Conference on Feb. 27 at the University of San Francisco.