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- Commentary: An RX for Nurses
- From
- Dick Meister
Those seeking to reform the health care system have a new and powerful ally -- an alliance of three major nurses associations that aims to unionize most of the country's registered nurses and enlist them in a drive to guarantee decent health care to all Americans. Among other reforms, the alliance is seeking creation of a national single-payer health care system and improvements in nurses' working conditions that would at least indirectly benefit patients and improve the overall state of health care.
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Piece Description
Those seeking to reform the health care system have a new and powerful ally -- an alliance of three major nurses associations that aims to unionize most of the country's registered nurses and enlist them in a drive to guarantee decent health care to all Americans. Among other reforms, the alliance is seeking creation of a national single-payer health care system and improvements in nurses' working conditions that would at least indirectly benefit patients and improve the overall state of health care.
Broadcast History
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Transcript
Those who are seeking reform of the highly inadequate health care system have a new and powerful ally … an ally that aims to unionize most of the country’s registered nurses and put them behind a drive to guarantee decent health care to all of us.
The drive is being led by an alliance of three of the nation’s largest nurses’ unions … the United American Nurses National Organizing Committee. It’s an AFL-CIO affiliate formed recently by the California and Massachusetts Nurses Associations, which have members in six states … and the Maryland-based United American Nurses, with members in 12 states.
The alliance represents 150 thousand registered nurses. That’s only a very small part of the country’s two-and-a-half million RNs, but an organizing drive planned by the alliance along with its drive to improve health care is certain to unionize growing numbers of nurses.
That is likely to spur...
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Intro and Outro
INTRO:Commentator Dick Meister says there are new hopes for improving the health care system.
OUTRO:Dick Meister is a long-time labor journalist.
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