Donna Smith, American SiCKO, National Nurses United, June 20, 2012 San Diego – Take heart, America. After an historic day of action in the worldwide launch of the Robin Hood Tax campaign, the nurses of National Nurses United kicked off the California statewide bus tour for Medicare for all to a standing room only crowd in San Diego.
 
As the audience cheered the news that JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon cowered in through a back door at the Rayburn House Office Building in DC as the nurses met him in full Robin Hood attire and with the message of supporting the Robin Hood Tax, the San Diego crowd had no difficulty connecting the need ... Standing

Kathy Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, June 20, 2012 The president of a large health care union local made an unprecedented move last week to get support for legislation to temporarily relax nurse-to-patient ratios at California hospitals during meal and rest times. Dave Regan, top exec at Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, asked the board of the California Labor Federation in a call Thursday to “go neutral” on a bill if one was proposed. The Labor Fed turned him down 60-2. The two “yes” votes were SEIU members. ... Union

Nurses are Facing an Unprecedented Attack. Cal Winslow, CounterPunch, June 19, 2012 California’s healthcare workers’ wars continue, in the streets, in collective bargaining and in the courts, at a level of conflict not often matched in the US today. More, in these California conflicts, healthcare workers and their unions are as often as not on the offensive. The new National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) has struck the huge healthcare chain Kaiser Permanente four times now in the past year, twice with support from California Nurses Association (CNA-NNU) RNs. ... California

San Diego nurses protest for "Robin Hood tax." Brandi Powell, NBC, June 19, 2012 One group of protesters gathered to raise awareness for a new Robin Hood Tax. Brandi Powell spoke to Jerry Jenkins, a registered nurse with the California Nurses Association, about solutions to income gaps in America. Chase Bank in Mission Valley beefed-up security for the Robin Hood rally on Tuesday morning. A security guard told NBC 7 he was hired to guard the outside of the bank to make sure nothing happened. Geri Jenkins, RN, joined nearly a dozen other nurses at the bank on the 5100 block of Mission Center Road in Mission Valley.... California

Josh Eidelson, In These Times, June 19, 2012 On June 15, a day after a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) official asked labor leaders not to oppose a change to nurse-patient ratios, California Nurses Association (CNA) Executive Director Rose Ann De Moro sent a blistering e-mail to her colleagues: “It is a war, of that I am certain, and it will not be pretty.” Questioning whether SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (UHW) President Dave Regan "has any principles,” De Moro called him “dogged, arrogant and an enormous embarrassment to the labor movement.” ... Are

Michelle Amber, Bureau of National Affairs, July 19, 2012
 
A war has erupted between two health care unions in California over an attack by one of the unions on the state's nurse-to-patient ratios.
 
The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United issued a statement June 15 alleging that Dave Regan, president of the Service Employees International Union's United Healthcare Workers West local, is attempting to suspend the hard-won nurse-patient ratios during breaks and meals.
 
UHW, however, responded that its position has been “mischaracterized” ... CNA

Randy Shaw, Beyond Chron, June 18, 2012 Going public with longstanding concerns about SEIU-UHW's partnership with the hospital industry, California Nurses Association leader RoseAnn DeMoro called SEIU-UHW head Dave Regan “overtly disgraceful” and “an enormous embarrassment to the labor movement” in a June 14 email. DeMoro is angry at Regan and SEIU for backing the California Hospital Association’s efforts to rollback nursing staffing ratios. Describing these ratios as a “life and death issue,” DeMoro called Regan’s arguments on the hospital’s behalf “idiotic.” The California Federation of Labor agreed, defeating Regan's proposal 60-2. ... CNA

Dave Jamieson, Huffington Post, June 16, 2012 One labor union’s position on nurse-to-patient ratios in California hospitals has outraged other unions that represent registered nurses in the state. In California, hospitals are required by law to maintain certain nurse-to-patient ratios at all times - a hard-won legal stipulation that went into effect in 2004 and has wide support among nurses as well as patient advocates in the state. Although labor groups also strongly back the ratio law, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) ... signaled this week that ... Health

California AFL-CIO Joins Nurses in Opposing New Threat. California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, June 15, 2012 The California Hospital Association, with the dogged assistance of United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), is waging a new campaign to overturn California’s historic law mandating minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, a landmark state law that has been proven to save thousands of patient lives. UHW President Dave Regan, who recently signed a partnership deal with CHA, the lobbying arm of the state’s wealthy hospital industry, launched a full court press Thursday, marching some of his local’s members ... California

National Nurses Movement, Daily Kos, June 13, 2012 Registered nurses from nearly a dozen hospitals in California walked out on the job, grabbed picket signs and held a one-day strike Wednesday to protest massive cuts to patient care and RN livelihood. Many marched outside Sutter Health hospitals in the Bay Area where the corporation is proposing some 100 widespread reductions in patient services and RN contract standards. 
As patient advocates, they can’t stand by and let a greedy corporation - that has raked in nearly $4.2 billion in profits since 2005 - create a system that can harm patients and nursing standards. ... Nurses

Victoria Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, June 12, 2012 As many as 4,400 registered nurses at nine Bay Area hospitals operated by Sutter Health are set to walk off their jobs Wednesday as part of an ongoing labor dispute with the large Sacramento hospital chain. This will be the fourth strike since September organized by the California Nurses Association, which has its headquarters in Oakland. The union and Sutter Health's management have been negotiating for more than a year. Labor leaders say sticking points include sick pay and reductions in employee benefits. Union officials said respiratory, X-ray and other technicians will join the striking nurses at the Sutter medical centers. ... 1-day

Sutter RNs to strike June 13 to stop cuts and protect patient care. Sutter Seeks Huge Cuts Despite $4.19 Billion in Profits Since 2005.
Advance Media Availability – Tuesday, June 12, 4 PM, Oakland.
 Nurses Will Also Strike at Petaluma Valley Hospital Wednesday. California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, June 12, 2012 Registered nurses at Sutter corporation hospitals in the Bay Area will be on strike Wednesday, June 13, the fourth short term walkout prompted by corporate demands for some 100 widespread reductions in patient care services and contract standards that affect patient care conditions and RN livelihood. ... Sutter

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, June 12, 2012 Registered nurses at Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica have postponed a strike that had been called for tomorrow, June 13 following an offer from former California State Senator Sheila Kuehl to mediate the nurses’ dispute with Saint John’s management. Hospital executives have also called off plans to lockout RNs following a one-day strike. In a letter to the RNs and hospital executives, Kuehl, who is also the founding director of the Public Policy Institute at Santa Monica College, called on both parties to “strive for a solution prior to a strike/lockout.” ... Santa

Shows Way to End Broader Dispute When Sutter Executives Withdraw Demands for Onerous Concession Demands. California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, June 7, 2012 Registered nurses at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport have reached a tentative agreement with hospital officials on a new collective bargaining contract that nurses say is the latest signal to Sutter Health corporate executives that an end to the broader dispute between nurses and the hospital chain can be achieved. Major elements of the agreement are significant new patient care protections that are critical to the RNs’ ability to provide safe care ... RNs

Registered nurses at Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica will hold a one-day strike Wednesday June 13 to protest what they see as stalling by hospital officials in reaching a fair negotiated agreement for the RNs that would enhance patient safety and help retain experienced RNs at the hospital.
 California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, June 6, 2012
The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United represents some 500 RNs at Saint John’s who voted last May to join CNA and began bargaining for their first contract September 8. The hospital has taken a hard line on some key issues that nurses say undermine the quality of care ... Santa