Their contract fight has been a similar fight to nurses across the country as Safe Staffing has been a leading demand to go along with the typical fight for livable wages and safe working conditions. We’ve seen this fight over and over again throughout the country as nurses lead the struggle for proper healthcare that healthcare monopolies have consistently denied in search of ever-increasing profits, even at so-called “non-profit” hospitals and medical centers.

The fight for a first contract took a step forward last month at a one-day picket out of the hospital calling on Ascension to agree to Safe Staffing in the deal. In an interview with the Working People Podcast, Nikki Horvat RN at the hospital stated, “Safe staffing is number one pretty much across the country. They maximize their profits by not staffing safely”, she went on to add the importance of Safe Staffing, “we have so much research data that shows that high nurse to patient ratios lead to worse patient outcomes, poorer patient satisfaction, higher nurse burnout, increased risk for medical errors.”

It is also important to remember as a LUEL Mid-Atlantic member stated after we visited striking nurses at RWJ Barnabas in New Jersey last year, “It is our duty as class-oriented trade unionists to rally behind these nurses in their fight for better conditions and fair wages. After all, the cuts in staffing affect the working class more than anyone, as the bosses can afford to shell out extra money to get the best care these nurses are trying to ensure for everyone.”

The post Nurses at Ascension St. Agnes Fight for Safe Staffing in First Contract appeared first on Labor Today.

Our unions are all members of the National Labor Network for Ceasefire, united by our shared call for a ceasefire in Gaza, the safe return of hostages, and safe passage for urgently needed humanitarian aid to those displaced, starved and injured by Israel’s campaign in Gaza. We see our demands broadly reflected in the campus protests.

Moreover, as trade unionists, we can never support efforts to repress, intimidate or deploy state-sanctioned violence against those exercising their democratic rights of free speech and who protest, strike, or demand justice.

The repressive response of certain university administrators and local police to these protests is also a labor rights issue. Faculty, student workers, and other campus workers – many of whom belong to our unions – are among those who have been arrested and forcibly removed from the protests or suspended from their work. University staff have been ordered to clear protests led by students, their fellow workers and union members. Academic freedom, free speech, the right to assemble, and the right to protest are fundamental rights and they must be respected on campuses and across the country.

The time for peace is now. We stand in solidarity with the protesters.

American Postal Workers Union (APWU)
Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA)
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)
National Nurses United (NNU)
United Auto Workers (UAW)
United Electrical Workers Union (UE)
Chicago Teachers Union Local 1 (CTU-1)
SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania (SEIUHCPA)
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East (1199SEIU)
United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 3000 (UFCW 3000)

The post Unions Stand in Solidarity with Campus Protesters, Demand Their Rights to Protest and Free Speech Be Respected appeared first on Labor Today.

Since October 2023, the UE and UFCW local 3000 became some of the first unions to begin the call for a ceasefire. Through organizing, many more unions including the UAW in December 2023 added their names to the list. The NLNC is currently calling for:

• An immediate ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
• Restoration of basic human rights.
• Immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas.
• Unimpeded full access for humanitarian aid.
• Our president calling for a permanent ceasefire.

Labor United Educational League supports ceasefire efforts along with the NLNC as well as the call for UN Resolution 242 which establishes an independent Palestinian state established on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and guaranteeing Palestinian refugees the right of return.

The post Unions Representing Over 9 Million Workers form the National Labor Network for Ceasefire appeared first on Labor Today.