C4. Radical Labor

Registered nurses and members of California Nurses Associationvwill host a John Lewis Day “Good Trouble Lives On” rally at noon on Thursday, July 17 in Oakland, Calif. The event is part of a nationwide day of action to honor the legacy of the late civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis.

RNs at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Md., gave notice to their employer today that they will hold a strike for one day on July 24 to protest the Ascension management’s refusal to address RNs’ deep concerns about patient care, safe staffing, and high staff turnover during contract negotiations.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) Gender Structure is calling on its members and also its staff in all nine regions to kindly make donations to victims of the floods which recently devastated parts of the Eastern Cape.

At least 90 people died and over 10 000 people have been affected as a result of heavy flooding in the OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape. The floods have displaced hundreds of families; damaged homes and settlements; and destroyed infrastructure and caused power cuts. At least four NUMSA members have lost family members as a result of the floods.

We are humbly requesting support for the victims of the flood. We are kindly requesting that all donations be made to the nearest NUMSA Regional or Local office.

Some of the items we are requesting are:

• Tinned food and dry goods such as beans, fish, rice, maize meal, pasta etc
• Sanitary items such as sanitary towels and toothpaste
• Baby food and diapers
• Clothes
• Shoes

We are kindly requesting that comrades use union meetings including LSSC’s and RSSC’s, and REC’s to donate so that we can help as much as possible. Any money which is donated can be given to the Regional office closest to the members.

We will be grateful for any contribution and any assistance will be highly appreciated.

The items received will be handed over to the Umtata Local on the 17th of July because they were heavily affected.

The gender structure wishes to thank trade union the South African Industrial Commercial and Allied Workers Union (SAICWU) our sister union within SAFTU for making a donation. President Rendani Munyai personally handed over clothes and shoes for families devastated by the floods. This is truly socialism and Ubuntu at work. We are deeply grateful to the union for heeding the call.

We also want to call on the public as a whole not to forget the people of the OR Tambo District. Even though this issue is no longer being reported on, the suffering of the community continues. If possible, we urge the public to reach out to organisations in the OR Tambo District to help those families whose lives have been devastated by the floods.

ENDS.

Issued on behalf of NUMSA by:

Puleng Phaka

NUMSA 2nd Deputy President

0617629266

For more information, please contact:

Phakamile Hlubi-Majola

NUMSA National Spokesperson

0833767725

phakamileh@numsa.org.za

NUMSA Head Office number: 0116891700

NUMSA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NumsaSocial

NUMSA Twitter account: @Numsa_Media

NUMSA Website: https://numsa.org.za/

PDF DOWNLOAD: The NUMSA Gender Structure is calling on the public not to forget the flood victims in the Eastern Cape who still need our support

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Nurses at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, are speaking out against the planned end of their hospital’s labor and delivery, neonatal intensive, and obstetrics emergency care services. Recently announced by HCA, nurses say these service shutdowns will leave patients with fewer options for essential health care for new parents and babies.

Nurses at University Medical Center New Orleans in New Orleans, La., are moving forward with their strike to protest LCMC Health’s retaliation against nurses for their union activity and patient advocacy.

Registered nurses at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia, Calif., voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract on July 9, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention.

The mass layoffs of federal employees have been unprecedented, devastating, and chaotic but it is the cuts to HHS that are extremely alarming to nurses and other health care workers.

With federal unions and veterans under attack, VA nurses are standing up and fighting back. From coast to coast, registered nurses who work at Veterans Health Administration (VA) facilities have been sounding the alarm to stop devastating cuts to the VA and calling out attempts to privatize the VA and fighting to protect union rights for federal employees.

“It wasn’t until I started working at the VA that I really understood why I loved being a nurse,” said Mildred Manning Joy, an RN at the VA in Durham, N.C., at a recent congressional briefing on what’s happening in our VA facilities. Like many VA nurses, Joy is a veteran herself.

“Visibility is our tool,” says Kristine Kittleson, RN and member of the Professional Practice Committee (PPC) at Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin (ASMCA) in Austin, Texas. “Texas is a right-to-work state. The union is us. We have to be visible to keep our membership up, to keep up with recruitment.”

Vital obstetrics services are in crisis in Maine. On March 27, Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor, a town about an hour southeast of Bangor, announced that it would be closing its obstetrics (OB) department on July 1. A week later, Houlton Regional Hospital in Houlton, announced that it would be shutting down its Labor, Delivery, Recovery, and Postpartum (LDRP) unit on May 2.

Registered nurses at CommonSpirit Longmont United Hospital in Longmont, Colo., made history in April by voting 100 percent in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention.

Registered nurses at Adventist Health Lodi Memorial (AHLM) in Lodi, Calif., voted to ratify a four-year contract on June 4. AHLM registered nurses are celebrating their victory on key demands related to patient safety and nurse retention.

National Nurses United announced its support for the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. The bipartisan federal bill would mandate health care and social service employers develop and implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan.

Registered nurses working at University of California medical centers (UC) held rallies across the state on June 10 to mark the start of their contract negotiations.

National Nurses United applauded the reintroduction of federal legislation to mandate minimum registered nurse-to-patient ratios in every hospital across the country. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky and new Senate sponsors, Sen. Alex Padilla and Sen. Jeff Merkley.

Registered nurses at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Long Beach and Alhambra Hospital Medical Center in Alhambra held one-day strikes on May 22 to protest issues impacting patient care and safe staffing.

Nurses at University Medical Center New Orleans (UMCNO) held a one-day strike on May 1, May Day. It was their third strike as they continue to fight for a first union contract with LCMC Health.

Registered nurses at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Ill. voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying a new four-year contract on April 7, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention.

Nurses and supporters rallied outside the Medical Alley Annual Dinner in Minneapolis on the evening of May 15 to demand accountability from health care executives and CEOs who continue to uphold a health care system that puts profits over patients.