News & Events
MNA Legislative Update #16
10.14.2011
UMPNC Rallies, Marches & Pickets for a fair contract
This past Wednesday, October 12th, members of the University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council held a rally, a march and an informational picket in downtown Ann Arbor, through the university campus and in front of the U of M Hospital. The event was successful in raising awareness of the on-going contract negotiations and in gathering community support for the nurses who continue to work hard day in and day out without a contract. This event was another successful example of MNA’s continuing work to promote the Main Street Contract for the American people. Wednesday’s event demonstrated just how important the Main Street Contract is and how much more effective the message is when high numbers of nurses turn out to support it. Thank you to everyone who came out and participated, particularly our speakers: State Representative Jeff Irwin, Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi and Michigan AFL-CIO President Karla Swift. Their words and our collective voice were a powerful force to be reckoned with and helped our message resonate long after the picket came to an end.
Auto No-Fault Legislation passes favorably out of committee
HB 4936 passed favorably out of committee on Thursday, October 13th, and will now go to the full House for a vote. Remember, HB 4936 would drastically change our Auto No-Fault law by eliminating lifetime coverage for catastrophic auto accident victims, among other things. The one change that was made to the legislation is that now the lowest minimum available would be $500,000 instead of $250,000. That amount is still not enough to cover the costs a severe accident victim could incur. In addition, there is no guarantee for premium reductions if someone chooses a lower level of coverage. We do NOT want to see this legislation move any closer to passage and getting signed by the Governor. If you did not do so last week, please call or write your state representative today and ask them not to support this bad piece of legislation.
Click on this link to send a letter to your state representative: http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/page/speakout/MINoFaultIns
Occupy Wall Street comes to Occupy Lansing
As the protests against big corporations continue on Wall Street in New York, the movement has started to spread across the country. Occupy events are popping up everywhere, so we should all do our part to get involved and stand in solidarity with others who share our outrage at the actions of those who can afford to help us fix the economy and won’t. Occupy Lansing will take place tomorrow, Saturday, October 15th, on the Capitol lawn. It will run from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. If you decide to attend, wear your red scrubs and stand in solidarity with your fellow nurses. If we all stand united, we won’t be divided!
Staying informed is critical, as well as getting involved at the local level. Get yourself out there, call or write your legislators, let us help you set up in district meetings with them, and take some time to go to their monthly coffee hours. It is imperative that we all get involved and stay involved with this process.
