HELLO, NURSE. Could nurses simultaneously save unions and lead the fight for a solid, universal health care plan? If what's going on in California is any indication, caregivers could reinvigorate the movement and take it beyond the bargaining table and into national politics.
Nurses in California marched on the capitol Monday, and prompted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to call a special session of the Legislature in order to pass legislation that would expand health care coverage in the state. Now they're gearing up to take their mission national. There are 325,000 nurses who belong to AFL-CIO affiliates, and 85,000 more belong to SEIU. Another 115,000 belong to United American Nurses, which recently forged an alliance with SEIU. While only one in eight blue collar workers in the country is unionized, one in five nurses belongs to a union – and healthcare is one of the most rapidly-expanding work forces in the country.
"We are a very, very strong and, some say, militant organization," Rose Ann DeMoro, an AFL-CIO vice president, told the Los Angeles Times. "And, honestly, in this environment it takes a militant organization. It's very hard for a registered nurse to go home at the end of a shift and feel good about the care she's able to give."
--Kate Sheppard
