The California Nurses Association is gearing up for what could be contentious contract negotiations with Kaiser Permanente. The existing contract expires Aug. 31. It covers 17,000 registered nurses across Northern California, including 3,500 in the Sacramento region. Face-to-face talks begin July 24 and union officials are willing to call a strike if Kaiser proposes cuts considered harmful to nurses or patients.

As many as one thousand people showed up outside Cobo Center in downtown Detroit Friday, calling for an immediate moratorium on service shutoffs by the city’s water department. Among them was “Avengers” actor Mark Ruffalo, who appeared unexpectedly, calling on others to join the demonstration.

Lay the blame for the manufactured crisis at the feet of those responsible: Wall Street Speculators and Gov. Rick Snyder. Join Registered Nurses as they declare a public health emergency and demand a moratorium on the unprecedented water shutoffs. Nurses, Detroit residents, clergy, labor, environmentalists, Netroots Nation opinion leaders, and others will march and rally to condemn this violation of human rights. Gov. Snyder is allowing the tragedy to continue with an endgame of privatizing the public water department — the latest in a string of gifts to Wall Street.

The comment period for the FDA Safety and Innovation Act framework closed last week with 172 organizations and individuals contributing remarks to the docket. More than 50 of the comments came from registered nurses as part of a campaign by National Nurses United, the largest U.S. nurses union. The group has strongly criticized the implementation of electronic health records, especially clinical decision support software, which provides clinicians with alerts and medical advice.

Here is a glimpse of the huge march and rally to protest the Detroit water shutoffs. It’s an amazing feat of organization, led by National Nurses United.

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National Nurse United has condemned the water shut-offs in the bankrupt city of Detroit as a threat to health disporportionately affecting the poor. NNU, a national union for registered nurses, has called for an immediate halt of all water shut-offs to address health concerns and human rights violations, and declared the situation a public health emergency in a press release Monday.