RN Sue Gray is exhausted. A cancerous battle has raged inside her body for more than a decade. Despite treatment, the deadly disease spread five years ago from her breasts to her liver and bones and is now stage-4. But the Minnesota nurse continues to work at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis where she cares for children. More »
Why did thousands of working nurses and supporters converge on scores of Congressional offices from Maine to California last week? How is it that nurses working long shifts at demanding jobs took time away from rest and family to appear before their representatives? More »
In honor of the latest dreary news that exactly zero net jobs were created in August, the corporate CEOs who ship our jobs overseas, and the budget cutters in Washington whose priorities lie elsewhere, let’s just rechristen the September holiday “Un-Labor” Day. More »
In a week that recorded no new jobs being created in the U.S. for the entire month of August, and many people struggling with what to do about it, nurses around the U.S. sent an entirely different message -- get out in the streets and demand change. On Thursday, thousands of nurses, joined by other labor and community supporters, went to the doorsteps of 60 members of Congress in 21 states across the U.S. More »
By: Donna Smith. Main Street, USA – Nurses call their neighbors and their elected officials to come to Main Street on September 1, even as many of the elected officials continue chiding one another about returning to DC. More »
For years, Americans believed if we worked hard, took care of our families, and followed the rules that we would eventually be allowed to retire with dignity. That’s not the case anymore. More »
For some time now, my disabled and retired machinist husband has watched with amusement when stock markets crash and rebound and broad financial indicators stutter and stammer. He has lived a lifetime of economic stress and difficulty and never once has he seen his personal wealth or lack thereof be of any great concern for those who trade and win and lose large sums of money in our world. More »
The headlines came quickly after President Obama concluded the deficit-debt deal with the Republicans Sunday evening. There were few shades of gray. The New York Times editorial was titled "To Escape Chaos, a Terrible Deal: Democrats won almost nothing they wanted except avoiding default." More »
Legislating while under the influence of ideological inebriation is not yet a statutory offense. It is only a multi-directional menace to much of what anxious Americans hold dear for themselves and their children. The dominant Republicans in Congress – both the new and many of the longer-term incumbents – are in heat. More »
Michael Moore is hosting his film festival in Michigan this week, and I sure hope they are showing “Gaslight” from 1944. The American electorate would be wise to watch it again and to put into context the messages of our elected officials as they work us to do their bidding on the debt deal and beyond. There are acting awards to be given in the latest turn of events – the President and the Speaker of the House might vie for best actor’s honors while the Senate Majority Leader and Tea Party darling Eric Cantor would surely compete for best supporting actors among a plethora of worthy players. More »
RNs across the U.S. are calling on Wall Street to pay for the damage they caused on Main Street. Our communities need healthcare, jobs, education, housing. More »
It has been a challenging week for many people. While our elected officials have been broadly reported to be at odds about exactly how to raise the debt ceiling or not, millions of Americans have no work, are running out of ways to keep their homes – rented or owned, and struggle even to keep the basic necessities for themselves and their families. More »
...when a recent report came out about insurance companies buying up physician groups and providers in increasing numbers, I wasn’t very surprised. More »
While many – far too many – politicians in Washington are fixated on making cuts in our most vital programs that protect American families while refusing to demand those who created our economic freefall pay up to help rebuild this nation, at least some have a broader vision. More »
I am just one of so many. I am working and nearing retirement age. My son has had jobs since he was 15 and actually likes to work but his full-time job currently is "applying and interviewing for jobs." More »
More than a thousand RNs and other activists marched on Wall Street Wednesday, chanting “Wall Street got bailed out! We got sold out!” More »
In every city and town across America today there is a "Mr. Cellophane," as the musical Chicago put it, and other men, women, and children who seem to have become invisible to those who set policy in Washington and to the financiers on Wall Street who put them in the shadows. More »
An international day of action to make Wall Street Pay - nurses are joining workers to demand jobs, guaranteed healthcare, quality public education, fair housing and enactment of a Financial Transaction Tax (Wall Street sales tax) More »
"...I love the way nurses fight for patients, for quality care, for fairness and progressive values! You’re standing tall all across our country, and you make the entire labor movement better for it! You make America better... every single day." More »
Ashley Forsberg, a Michigan RN, held the microphone Monday to share a quote she saw during a recent visit to the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum, the historic Washington, D.C. headquarters of the National Woman’s Party. “Failure is not possible,” she recited. More »
