Thursday, June 10, 2010

Support the Nurses and Patients - On Strike


The patients they care for!

I'm not going to add much to this, it explains itself and many nurses around the country know what's going on, I'm not a nurse. I have heard from friends who are as this was building to today, and many of them are unemployed, some for long periods, and get find jobs, in what's been touted as one area of the economy in dire need of, because of what the Hospitals have been doing to those nurses still working and others. Hospital have become, like the rest of the businesses and more, Industries, that which they shouldn't be!

The corporate mindset we've seen develop over the last three decades is well embedded in all the industries and Hospitals, like Schools, All Education, should Not Be Industries!! But we've been watching the mindset these last couple of years as it collapsed, Wall Street, Banks,Auto,Oil.................................you name it!

Twin Cities nurses on strike

Walkout is biggest in U.S. history and first in the metro area since 2001.

The biggest nursing strike in American history began at 7 a.m. as members of the Minnesota Nurses Association began walking picket lines at 14 Twin Cities hospitals, which responded with replacement staffing from around the country.

Thousands of pickets were expected to crowd the sidewalks around Abbott Northwestern, Fairview Southdale, Park Nicollet Methodist and other hospitals, and a number of Minnesota political figures said they would walk the lines with the nurses. Virtually all of the union's 12,000 members were expected to participate in what is planned as a 24-hour walkout. At midweek, hospitals appeared to be intensifying security in lobbies and other public areas. Continued

If you're in the area of the Twin Cities a call has gone out:

The strike begins - help us cover it

I'll be blogging about the events all day, and I need your help to find out what's happening out on the streets - and inside the hospitals. Tell us about your experience, and what you're seeing. Send an email to james.shiffer@startribune.com or call me at (612) 673-4271.

And this as well:

Nurses warned about revealing too much about patients

The Facebook page of the Minnesota Nurses Association offers a running commentary, from the practical - "Anyone in the MNA negotiation group, Please let those of us who are working tonight, know what to do if we are told to leave at 0300 " - to the emotional - " We are Strong. We are United. We are NOT afraid. And we will not back down. Are you listening TCH?" Continued

I understand that thousands of nurses in Calif. have been blocked from joining in on this strike and have heard earlier that some nurses elsewhere were going to join in.

If any Nurses read please add anything or actually post up another with more insight, I just wanted to get something up so others can somehow show their collective Support!!

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