CHICAGO--As this is written, everyone wounded in the terror bombings at the Boston Marathon has survived his or her wounds. This remarkable testament to effective medical response stems largely from Boston’s exceptional health-care capacity. —Chicago Sun-Times, By Jesse Jackson, 04/23/13 More »
Chicago, IL – More than two hundred union leaders and activists gathered in Chicago for the Labor Campaign's fourth national conference to strategize about next steps for labor in the movement to win universal health care. With government officials from both major parties contemplating cuts in Medicare as part of a "grand bargain," delegates resolved to stand up to any cuts in this cornerstone social insurance program. —Labor Campaign for Single Payer Health Care , 01/14/13 More »
National Nurses United(NNU) took up the cause of Robin Hood at Chicago’s downtown J.P. Morgan Chase building on June 19. With its merry band of tax reforming nurses, the NNU held a lunch hour rally to press for a financial transactions tax (FTT) or as it is more commonly called, a “Robin Hood Tax”. Chicago was among 15 cities where similar rallies were held. Easily recognized by their red scrubs along with their Robin Hood hats and masks, NNU members described the Robin Hood tax in signs that read,”It’s Not a Tax On the People. It’s a Tax For the People.” —Unions.org, 07/06/12 More »
Of all the street actions leading up to the NATO summit, the one that might seem most perplexing is a nurses’ rally for a tax on securities trades. Financial markets are pretty remote from hospital bedsides, you might think. Why would nurses get mixed up in an issue like that? —Chicago Sun Times, 05/23/12 More »
On the run-up to the NATO summit, free speech is being held hostage. While the summit kicks off this weekend, the war of words has been under way for months. Chicago needs a cease-fire on the distortions, disclaimers and declarations that have filled the public conversation. More »
CHICAGO (CBS) – Is the city of Chicago double-crossing demonstrators planning protests during the weekend of the NATO summit? That’s what protest organizers are charging, claiming the city is going back on its word on where and how two big marches will conclude. More »
Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration pulled the plug Tuesday on the only NATO protest planned for a workday in the Loop business district, revoking permission for a May 18 Daley Plaza rally barely a week before world leaders are to arrive in Chicago. The National Nurses United group that planned the demonstration and other protest groups called the move a violation of free speech and said it fits a pattern of City Hall trying to marginalize demonstrations against the May 20-21 gathering. —Chicago Tribune, 05/09/12 More »
The city of Chicago has forced the relocation of a National Nurses United rally planned for May 18th after the event added a performance by Tom Morello, the Chicago Tribune reports. —Rolling Stone, 05/09/12 More »
The endorsement of the May 20 march against NATO earlier this month by Rev. Jesse Jackson, along with support from Rev. Phil Blackwell, National Nurses United and members of the Service Employees International Union, represents the latest stage in this collaboration. —Chicago Muckrakers, 04/24/12 More »
NNU RNs support victorious Republic Windows union employees who called off their occupation of their workplace early today after its owner said it will keep the factory operating for 90 days while the union and management look for a buyer. —NNU News, 02/24/12 More »
More than two dozen people in red shirts affiliated with National Nurses United stood outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s fifth floor City Hall office this morning chanting, "Arrest the 1 percent." —Chicago Tribune, 10/24/11 More »
Assertions by Cook County officials that Oak Forest Hospital patients will be adequately cared for if the hospital closes were called into question Monday at a public hearing on the planned closure at Oak Forest City Hall. —Southtown Star/Chicago Suntimes, 05/03/11 More »
Health care is expensive enough without spending money needlessly. That's what Cook County hospitals are doing. As Greg Hinz reported last week, an investigation by Crain's and the Better Government Assn. shows the public hospital system spends millions more than it should on overtime pay. Total overtime hours exceed industry-recommended norms by a wide margin. —Crain's Chicago, 04/25/11 More »
Staff shortages and management woes at Cook County hospitals are pushing overtime to extraordinary levels, imposing huge costs on taxpayers and raising concerns about patient safety. —Crain's Chicago, 04/15/11 More »
CHICAGO — Union nurses at University of Chicago Medical Center have voted to authorize a strike, but an interim contract will keep them on the job until at least the end of June. —Daily Reporter, 04/15/11 More »
CHICAGO—Unionized nurses have voted to authorize a strike against the University of Chicago Medical Center. —WGN Chicago, 04/15/11 More »
Union workers at the plant have been picketing since being locked out in June, when negotiations over a new contract stalled. The dispute involves disagreements over pensions and health benefits. The memorial is a fitting backdrop for the contentious labor dispute that has shaken Metropolis — the self-proclaimed hometown of Superman, which sits on the Ohio River at the southern edge of Illinois. Many workers believe that the plant contributed to their fellow employees’ illnesses, which is a central reason the union is refusing to accept the plant operator’s plan to reduce pensions for newly hired workers and health benefits for retirees. —New York Times, 08/08/10 More »
For thousands of Illinois residents who pay high health insurance premiums because of medical problems, the new federal health care legislation won't offer relief. The 16,000 residents who already pay into Illinois' high-risk health insurance pool will keep paying high rates, while others who enroll this summer under a new, similar program will get coverage at much lower, more reasonable prices. —Associated Press, 05/16/10 More »
More than 3 million Illinois residents, particularly those who buy health insurance on their own or get it from a small employer, will have the right to get their denied medical claims reviewed by outside health experts under legislation signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn today. —Chicago Tribune, 01/05/10 More »
