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World news in 7 minutes. Thursday 31st July 2025Today: Nigeria nurses strike. Kenya cult exhumation. Angola protest deaths. Tunisia transport strike. UK Palestine Action. Russia earthquake. Pakistan India account. China tropical storm. Australia YouTube ban. Haiti France reparations. Saint Lucia same-sex laws. Greece marine reserves.With Juliet MartinSEND7 is supported by our amazing listeners like you.Our supporters get access to the transcripts written by us every day.Our supporters get access to an English worksheet made by us once per week. Our supporters get access to our weekly news quiz made by us once per week. We give 10% of our profit to Effective Altruism charities. You can become a supporter at send7.org/supportContact us at podcast@send7.org or send an audio message at speakpipe.com/send7Please leave a rating on Apple podcasts or Spotify.We don't use AI! Every word is written and recorded by us!Since 2020, SEND7 (Simple English News Daily in 7 minutes) has been telling the most important world news stories in intermediate English. Every day, listen to the most important stories from every part of the world in slow, clear English. Whether you are an intermediate learner trying to improve your advanced, technical and business English, or if you are a native speaker who just wants to hear a summary of world news as fast as possible, join Stephen Devincenzi, Ben Mallett and Juliet Martin every morning. Transcripts, worksheets and our weekly world news quiz are available for our amazing supporters at send7.org. Simple English News Daily is the perfect way to start your day, by practising your listening skills and understanding complicated stories in a simple way. It is also highly valuable for IELTS and TOEFL students. Students, teachers, TEFL teachers, and people with English as a second language, tell us that they use SEND7 because they can learn English through hard topics, but simple grammar. We believe that the best way to improve your spoken English is to immerse yourself in real-life content, such as what our podcast provides. SEND7 covers all news including politics, business, natural events and human rights. Whether it is happening in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas or Oceania, you will hear it on SEND7, and you will understand it.For more information visit send7.org/contact or send an email to podcast@send7.org
Around 36,000 nurses are taking to the street today in an effort for better pay and conditions, but with the average nurse earning over $100,000 a year - are some being a bit greedy? Also, while interest rates have lowered, many Wellingtonians are still feeling the pinch of a sluggish economy. When can we expect to see the economy bounce back? Deputy Prime Minister and Act leader David Seymour joined Nick Mills in the studio. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Thirty-six thousand workers from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation are walking off the job on Wednesday, after talks with Health NZ broke down this week. RNZ health correspondent Ruth Hill spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
Nurses are fed up over chronic short-staffing, despite graduates seeking jobs. More than 30 thousand nurses and heath professionals will be off the job from 9am, withdrawing labour from all Health New Zealand services for the next 24 hours. Strikes are taking place in over 30 locations across the country, with thousands of procedures and appointments postponed. Nurses Organisation Chief Executive Paul Goulter told Mike Hosking Health NZ doesn't realise the risks its staff and patients are under. He says you need nurses for a safe health system, and we don't have that, so it's a political choice. Goulter says their pay gap needs to be improved by a matter of a few percent, and at the moment they don't even come close to the cost of living. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 30th July, nurses are on strike today and gang numbers are up – a double blow for the Government. Netball NZ has secured its broadcast deal – a one year deal with TVNZ. Is it the solution, or just a band aid? Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell talk gang numbers, the House performances, and Brooke van Velden and eggs on Politics Wednesday. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Belief a breakdown of trust between nurses and leadership is fuelling protests today. Tens of thousands of nurses are striking for 24 hours over chronic workforce shortages, withdrawing labour from all Health New Zealand services from 9am. Thousands of procedures and appointments have been postponed. Former Health New Zealand Chair, Rob Campbell told Ryan Bridge people don't trust general assurances anymore and want to see working safe conditions that are capable of being met. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you've got an appointment at the hospital this week, you might want to check it's still going ahead. Nurses are going on strike tomorrow from 9am for 24 hours. 4,300 surgeries and specialist appointments will be affected. It's a complete withdrawal of labour. It's 36,000 nurses. It'll affect every place where Health NZ provides health or hospital care, and it's the middle of winter. The nurses union's been bargaining. It's the usual stuff - pay and staffing levels. Also as usual, they say if it's life or death, you will be seen to. They had a bargaining meeting yesterday with Health NZ, which didn't go well. They've been bargaining since last September and haven't found common ground yet. The nurses say they are too short staffed and departing nurses are not being replaced. And without more pay, nurses will keep being tempted across the Tasman. So, what were they being offered? Health NZ says a new graduate nurse on $75,773 would gain a total pay increase of $8,337 (or 11%) by the end of June 2026. What's more, they say the average salary for both senior and registered nurses, including overtime, PDRP allowance, and penal rates, is $125,662. Until these guys can sort out who's right and come to a deal, this may not be the last hospital strike we patients must endure this winter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tortoise & Hare Footwear, Ozzy has died, Payment Choice Act, Dave In A Truck, The Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, Nicole Mitchell, MN Senator Bruce Anderson, the Nurses Strike has ended, city council recap, worldwide book release of Codebreaker, Kendall Qualls, and more...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Former Member of Parliament for Sekondi and legal practitioner, Andrew Agyapa-Mercer, has criticised the government's response to the ongoing nurses' strike. He branded the reaction as insensitive, callous,” and dismissive.
The GRNMA leadership is currently in a meeting to decide whether to call off their ongoing strike. The meeting is being held to determine the next course of action
Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, the Ranking Member on Parliament's Health Committee, has criticised the NDC government's approach to the ongoing strike by nurses and midwives across Ghana.
June 10, 2025 ~ The nurses at Henry Ford Rochester Hospital are striking over staffing concerns. Dina Carlisle, president of OPEIU Local 40, joins Marie Osborne to share more about their concerns.
The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has issued a heartfelt appeal to retired nurses and midwives to volunteer their services amid the ongoing nurses' strike.
Pay and staffing are two of the main issues for nurses who walked off the job today as part of a week long strike. Henry Ford Health says the hospital remains open. WWJ's Chris Fillar and Jackie Paige have your Monday morning news. (Photo credit: WWJ's Charlie Langton)
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, has appealed to members of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) to reconsider their ongoing strike.
Chaotic scenes unfolded in some public health facilities across Ghana, as the ongoing strike by nurses and midwives entered a critical phase. The total withdrawal of services has left patients stranded, clinics overcrowded, and doctors overwhelmed.
The Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, is urging the immediate formation of an independent mediation body to help resolve the deepening standoff between the government and striking nurses and midwives.
Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association challenges National Labour Commission directive, proceeds with strike action
Day two into the strike by GRNMA, patients have been left stranded at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ridge, as nurses and midwives continue to withdraw their services over what they say is the government's failure to implement agreed conditions of service.
The ongoing strike by nurses in public hospitals across Ghana continues to severely impact healthcare delivery, leaving patients stranded and medical services disrupted. In many health facilities, nurses have abandoned post, leaving patients stranded.
It may have been a shortened week but that doesn't mean it wasn't a newsy one! The City Cast Madison team is here for the Friday news roundup to fill you in on the stories you need to know. Host Bianca Martin has the latest on the historic UnityPoint Health - Meriter nurses strike. Producer Jade Iseri-Ramos gives a sobering update on the search for a missing boater on Lake Monona. And executive producer Hayley Sperling gives the scoop on some new apartments popping up around town. Mentioned on the show: Madison hotel with chronic police calls reopens as a studio apartment building [Wisconsin State Journal] First tenants enter Bakers Place, Madison's mass timber high-rise [Cap Times] Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We're also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.
Nurses at UnityPoint Health Meriter Hospital in Madison go on strike, the rank-and-file of UAW Local 291 will look at the latest management proposals as the strike continues at Cummins in Oshkosh, Labor Radio talks to Christine Vitel of AFGE 777 representing TSA workers, unions organize to resist federal spending cuts, mental health workers of the National Union of Healthcare Workers in Southern California reach an agreement with Kaiser Permante after striking for over six months, an immigration judge orders an SEIU member released from ICE detention in Washington State, and GM workers in Mexico fight to organize.
Labor History Today: During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, 800 nurses walked out on strike in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As concern rises about the return of measles and cuts to healthcare staff and budgets, this edition of the Labor Jawn podcast from February 2022 is especially timely. And, a double-hit of Labor History in Two: The day The Grapes of Wrath opened in movie theaters, and the day Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
800 nurses in Bucks County, PA strike during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally aired: February 28, 2022.Support the showwww.laborjawn.com
More than 300 people marched to the Pennsylvania Capitol Monday to protest President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump's executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion has prompted the National Science Foundation to review all research it recently funded to make sure they're in compliance. Members of Pennsylvania’s largest healthcare and nurses' union began a strike at Geisinger’s Wyoming Valley locations on Monday. The Lancaster County District Attorney says a city police officer was justified in fatally shooting a machete-wielding man in January. A large fire at an aerospace manufacturer’s facility north of Philadelphia closed schools and sparked shelter-in-place orders. Franklin County Crime Solvers is offering a reward for information about the theft of 100,000 eggs from a processing facility earlier this month. HIV survivors in Philadelphia talk about how they navigate the unexpected gift of growing older.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Labor Radio looks back at the close ties between the Reverend Martin Luther King and the labor movement and tells what is happening in the Madison area this holiday weekend, a nurse discusses the Oregon Nurses Association strike against Providence Health in that state, the SEIU rejoins the AFL-CIO, workers and community members rally at an Amazon-owned Whole Foods store in Philadelphia ahead of a unionization vote later this month, and South Central Federation of Labor President Kevin Gundlach talks about labor and the April election in Wisconsin, which includes an important state Supreme Court race.
It's Hump Day! Sam speaks with Zohran Mamdani, State Assemblyman for New York's 36th District & candidate for Mayor, to discuss his candidacy. Then, he speaks with 2 members of the Oregon Nurses Association: Rebekah Van Dyke, union steward & strike captain, & Christie Sowards, member of the bargaining team involved in negotiations with Providence Health Systems in Oregon. Providence nurses at 8 Oregon hospitals are currently on strike. Follow Zohran on Twitter: https://x.com/ZohranKMamdani Find out more on Zohran's website here: https://www.zohranfornyc.com/ Find out more about the Oregon Nurses strike here: https://www.oregonrn.org/page/PatientsBeforeProfits Support the Providence Strike Fund here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-providence-strike-fund Find a Providence hospital picket line near you!: Find a Providence picket line near you!: https://www.google.com/search?q=providence+hospitals+oregon+near+me&oq=providence+hospitals+oregon+near+me&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMggIAxAAGBYYHjIICAQQABgWGB4yCAgFEAAYFhgeMggIBhAAGBYYHjIICAcQABgWGB4yCAgIEAAYFhgeMggICRAAGBYYHtIBCDM4NDBqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase! Check out today's sponsors: Express VPN: Protect your online privacy TODAY by visiting https://ExpressVPN.com/majority. That's https://ExpressVPN.com/majority and you can get an extra four months FREE. Manukora Honey: Now, it's easier than ever to try Manukora Honey. Head to https://Manukora.com/MAJORITY to get $25 off the Starter Kit, which comes with an MGO 850+ Manuka Honey jar, 5 honey travel sticks, a wooden spoon, and a guidebook! That's https://Manukora.com/MAJORITY for $25 off your Starter Kit. ZBiotics: Go to http://zbiotics.com/majority and get 15% off your first order of ZBiotics Pre-Alcohol Probiotic by using my code MAJORITY at checkout. Thanks to ZBiotics for sponsoring today's video! Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/
INTERVIEW: Linda Smillie from New Zealand Nurses Organisation on nurses strike by Zac Hoffman on Radio One 91FM Dunedin
Nurses, midwives, health care assistants, and kaimaho hauora will strike around the country. The Nurses Organisation says they're worried about safe staffing levels and indications that any settlement will be limited to a total increase of one percent. Health New Zealand deputy chief executive for the Northern region Mark Shepherd spoke to Corin Dann.
Jeff is joined by infectious disease doctor MarkAlain Dery to talk about the upcoming LCMC Nurses Strike and the recently held Grassroots Radio Conference. SUPPORT GOOD MORNING COMRADE Subscribe on Youtube Follow Jeff on Twitter Email us! goodmorningcomrade.com Twitter Facebook Leave a review! 5 stars and say something nice to spread the word about the show!
Jeff and Robert talk about Israel burning hospitals, American Empire, and the Nurses Strike in New Orleans. SUPPORT GOOD MORNING COMRADE Subscribe on Youtube Follow Jeff on Twitter Email us! goodmorningcomrade.com Twitter Facebook Leave a review! 5 stars and say something nice to spread the word about the show!
Jason Foster, an Athabasca University professor of human resources and labour relations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
University of Wisconsin unions show up at the university system's Board of Regents meeting with actions and demands, striking University of Illinois Hospital nurses speak to Labor Radio at the picket line, the federally-appointed "neutral" monitor tries to make the UAW do his bidding on Gaza policy, unions strike across Cornell University, and we hear voices of organized labor at the Democratic Party convention.
The San Diego City Council will vote on a major refresh of the city's general plan, which will guide new housing and employment. Hundreds of nurses at Rady Children's Hospital will be back on the picket lines today. There are just three days left until the Opening Ceremony for the Paris Olympics. Here's NBC 7's Nicole Gomez with the top stories of the day.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The nurses at Rady Children's Hospital are likely to go on strike next week. The union informed it's 1,600 members that Rady Children's has presented it's final contract offer and union negotiators felt it was unacceptable. The chair of San Diego's Democratic Party has died. Becca Taylor was killed in a motorcycle accident in Utah. Today marks 40 years since 21 people were killed and 19 others injured after a gunman opened fire at a San Ysidro Mcdonald's. It was one of the country's first mass shootings, and it has scarred the South Bay community for decades. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Nurses at Rady Children's Hospital are planning to strike in 10 days. The nurse's union and the hospital have been negotiating a new contract for months, most of the hold up is over pay. A community group is asking city leaders to create a wildlife management plan for the sea lions at the La Jolla Cove. They worry that public access may soon be revoked due to multiple incidents involving people getting too close to the animals. New screening procedures aiming to crackdown on illegal substances will soon be implemented at our local jails,See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Around 2,000 nurses and other health professionals went on strike this week as part of an ongoing labour conflict in healthcare. We hear from Sineva Ribeiro, chair of the union behind the strike. Also: With just two sleeps to go until the European election, we hear what the top candidates from each party would like the EU to look like in 10 years time.And: Police in Norrköping have set up the country's first stop and search zone in the city's Hageby neighbourhood. Petter Ahnoff, news editor at P4 Östergötland, tells us how locals are reacting.Presenters: Michael Walsh and Babak ParhamProducer: Kris Boswell
Didn't we already learn these lessons. Today we explore.
If you're headed to upstate New York to watch Monday's solar eclipse, be prepared for heavy traffic. The state thruway is expected to be congested as people from New York City and parts of southern Canada converge on the prime viewing spots. Meanwhile, nurses at Staten Island University Hospital have a new 3-year contract that includes improved staffing standards and wage increases. Lastly, after Friday's unusual earthquake shocked the region, WNYC's David Furst discusses New York City's earthquake readiness with Professor John Mutter, who studies seismology at Columbia University.
This is the All Local afternoon update for Saturday, March 30th, 2024.
On this week's listener series episode, we welcome Annie. Annie and her husband live in California at the wedding venue they own and operate. A few weeks before their due date, they experienced a wildfire that damaged a large part of their wedding venue. Annie experienced a lot of stress and started to feel the effects of it in her pregnancy. Around the same time, the nurses at their hospital went on strike which brought in travel nurses and a change of normal care to her delivery. Annie's story is a prime example that trauma can occur even when there is no physical danger to the birthing parent or the baby. What you will hear on this episode:- environmental stressors affecting their home and business- nurses strike- posterior position/sunny side up baby- epidural turned off without being asked- daughter born with bleeding blister and bruise from friction- postpartum with environmental stressors still at play- long-term impact on confidence in parenting- hope in healing If you have a birth trauma story you would like to share with us, click this link and fill out the form. For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @birthtrauma_mama.Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.
It's Hump Day! Emma speaks with Sophia Moccio and Aaron Habrack, ICU nurses at the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to discuss the recent developments in their strike, which has lasted over 75 days. Then, Emma is joined by Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation, to discuss his recent piece in The Guardian on the 40th anniversary of the coup in Grenada. First, Emma runs through updates on Israel's bombarding of a blockaded Gaza, the UN Secretary General's calls for a ceasefire, DeSantis' crackdown on pro-Palestine action, and the potential speakership of Mike Johnson. Sophia Moccio and Aaron Habrack then join, first reflecting on the 83 days that they and the other RWJ Nurses have been on strike and the severe backlash that they've faced at the hands of RWJ management, before stepping back to assess the conditions that pushed the nurses to this point, with a particular focus on the over-working and under-staffing that led to poor patient care. After looking at the massive role RWJ plays within both New Brunswick and New Jersey writ large, Sophia and Habrack tackle the legislative reform they're hoping New Jersey will institute, and how we – on the outside – can help. Bhaskar Sunkara then jumps right into the forgotten story of the only successful socialist revolution in the anglophone world – that of Grenada – and what we can learn from its memory 40 years after a US invasion crushed it. After briefly exploring the role that socialist internationalism – particularly with Cuba – played in bolstering this revolution (and the US' opposition to it), Bhaskar steps back to walk Emma through the conditions of the absurd and corrupt rule of Eric Gairy that primed the radicalizing afro-Caribbean population for revolution, exploring how some 50 people drew on popular support to overthrow a regime of thousands. Next, Sunkara and Emma run through the overwhelming and immediate success of the socialist policies under Maurice Bishop, as well as the incredible effort it took from an incredibly small movement, before wrapping up with the eventual decline of Bishop's regime and the Regan-backed overthrow of his party after four short years in power. And in the Fun Half: Emma discusses the Peter Thiel–SBF origin connections, explores Eric Toller and the NYT's visual investigation into Israel's role in the bombing of al-Ahli Arab Hospital, and why such reporting is so important. Sandy from Ontario expands on yesterday's discussion about the ostracization and marginalization of Sarah Jamma from Canadian politics, the Speakership of anti-gay, anti-choice, and election-denying bigot Mike Johnson, and the GOP's continuing attack on Social Security. Yosef from Israel on his appreciation for MR's Reporting (and a small piece of context), and Barnaby Raine touches on the UK's anti-Semitic panic, plus, your calls and IMs! Find out more about the RWJ nurses strike here: https://jacobin.com/2023/10/robert-wood-johnson-hospital-nurses-strike-new-jersey-short-staffing https://linktr.ee/rwjnursesunited Check out Bhaskar's piece here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/25/the-us-invaded-the-island-of-grenada-40-years-ago-the-legacy-of-revolution-lives-on Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Check out today's sponsors: LiquidIV: Grab your Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier Sugar-Free in bulk nationwide at Costco or you can get 20% off when you go to https://liquidiv.com and use code MAJORITYREP at checkout. That's 20% off ANYTHING you order when you shop better hydration today using promo code MAJORITYREP at https://liquidiv.com. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattBinder @MattLech @BF1nn @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/ Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/
patreon.com/leftreckoning to support the show and get the postgame and sunday shows Matt & David talk about the inhumanity of the siege on Gaza, the despicable political response, and how this is not the time to shy away. Then we are joined by nurses from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey who have been on strike demanding better staffing, higher pay, and basic worker's rights. Support the strike here: https://safestaffingnj.org/ You can read more about this by Sudip Bhattacharya here: https://jacobin.com/2023/10/robert-wood-johnson-hospital-nurses-strike-new-jersey-short-staffing?fbclid=IwAR3Nvxr_Kd7y53IhW1ztNm4NNAyv7vQK5E1owYfklGU7yQFgcxzinrZRfXw
This week on the Friday Flyover, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan battle for Speaker of the U.S. House | UAW President Shawn Fain announces 8,700 Ford Kentucky Truck plant workers are joining the strike | Nurses are striking around the nation | Wisconsin Supreme Court judge Janet Protasiewicz stands her ground against GOP goofballshttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/republicans-fail-to-coalesce-around-speaker-choice-leaving-house-in-limbo/ar-AA1i49oxhttps://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/11/uaw-launches-strike-against-fords-kentucky-truck-plant-signaling-major-escalation-in-labor-fight.htmlOct. 11 – Today, Ford came to the table with the same offer they submitted to us two weeks ago. It was an unacceptable move that triggered a strong and immediate response.UAW President Shawn Fain and Vice President Chuck Browning called on our 8,700 members at Ford's extremely profitable Kentucky Truck Plant to Stand Up and strike. Our Local 862 members answered the call and walked out today at 6:30 p.m.Our Stand Up strategy has won important victories at the table, but we must go further. We will keep increasing the pressure on Ford and all of the Big Three until we've won our fair share of the record profits we've made at Kentucky Truck and every Big Three plant.Tune in to Facebook Live this Friday, Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. for more announcements on the status of bargaining at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.General Motors last week agreed to include workers at its electric vehicle battery plant in the company's national contract with the union, which Fain called a “transformative win.”Fain said the union expects Chrysler parent Stellantis and Ford to follow suit, including battery plant workers in eventual contract agreements.The UAW has been gradually increasing the strikes since the work stoppages began after the sides failed to reach tentative agreements by Sept 14.The additional workers brings UAW's total to about 34,000 U.S. workers, or roughly 23% of UAW members covered by the expired contracts with the Detroit automakers, who are currently on strike.Fain will give bargaining updates and potentially announce further strikes at 10 a.m. Friday online, the union said Wednesday night.https://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/nurses-unions-push-for-mandatory-staff-to-patient-ratiosSafe Patients Limit Act would cap the number of patients per registered nurseBy PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.comSPRINGFIELD – Unions representing nurses in Illinois are pushing for legislation that would impose mandatory staff-to-patient ratios in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.But lobby groups representing hospitals and nursing homes say they are steadfastly opposed to the legislation, arguing that a nationwide nursing shortage makes it impossible to comply with such a mandate.The proposed Safe Patient Limits Act, by Sen. Celina Villanueva and Rep. Theresa Mah, both Chicago Democrats, was introduced in February and was the subject of a joint hearing last week in Chicago by two House committees. It's an issue that has been discussed in the General Assembly since 2019 but has thus far failed to gain the necessary traction for passage. The latest hearing came just three weeks before lawmakers return to the Capitol for their fall veto session, which begins Oct. 24.“Short staffing isn't a mere inconvenience. It's a dire issue,” said Shaba Andrich, vice president of nursing homes for the SEIU Healthcare employee union. “It's predominantly a Black and brown issue. In historically marginalized communities of Chicago, these issues are magnified. These communities that already face systemic underinvestment are further deprived of adequate nursing care due to chronic short staffing.”The bill calls for setting a maximum number of patients that could be assigned to a registered nurse in specified situations. For example, in units with critical care or intensive care patients, the maximum number of patients per nurse would be just one. In units with pediatric patients, the bill would allow three patients per nurse, and in units with psychiatric patients, the bill would allow four patients per nurse.It also provides some legal protection for nurses, stating that they are to provide their services exclusively in the interest of patients, “unencumbered by the commercial or revenue-generating priorities” of a facility that employs registered professional nurses.Andrich, testifying before the committee last week, disputed the notion that there is a nursing shortage in Illinois. He said there is only “a shortage of caregivers who are refusing to be overworked and undervalued and underpaid,” and that the result of understaffing has direct consequences for patients.“Such understaffing isn't merely an operational concern. It translates into real world consequences,” he said. “Seniors enduring falls, malnutrition, missed medication, avoidable hospitalization, and, tragically, avoidable deaths.”Some of those who testified in favor of the bill accused hospitals and nursing homes of being more concerned about labor costs and profit margins than the best interests of patients.“We need this legislation because hospitals are incentivized to reduce labor costs. This means less staff,” said Jeanine Johnson, a critical care nurse at Ascension St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet. “Hospital executives see budgets and labor costs. Nurses see patients and their lives.”A.J. Wilhelmi, president & CEO of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, a hospital trade group, said it's true that health care providers face significant financial pressures, largely because Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates have not kept pace with the rising cost of health care. But he said contrary to what the unions claimed, there is a significant and growing nursing shortage in Illinois, and the proposed Safe Patient Limits Act would put even more of a financial burden on providers.During his testimony, Wilhelmi cited a state survey into the registered nurse workforce that was conducted by the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center – which is a state agency that works to promote the nursing profession. Of the respondents to that survey, 27 percent indicated an intent to retire within the next five years. The IHA interpreted that and other data in the survey to suggest the state could see a shortage of 14,400 registered nurses by 2025.“I'm deeply concerned that many hospitals in the state, particularly safety net hospitals, critical access hospitals, will be unable to absorb the huge cost that ratios would impose,” he said. “And given the enormous financial pressures that Illinois hospitals already face, if this bill becomes law, they're going to have to make some tough decisions like cutting back services, closing hundreds of beds, and eliminating jobs. And frankly, some of our hospitals might be forced to close.”Andy Allison, deputy director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the agency that administers the state's Medicaid program, suggested that the key to solving the staffing issues in hospitals and nursing homes is to raise wages to make the jobs more attractive.He noted that last year, lawmakers passed a significant overhaul of the way the state reimburses nursing homes through Medicaid, adding roughly $700 million in the form of incentives to increase wages and hire more staff.Before those reforms were adopted, he said, Illinois was home to 46 of the 100 worst-staffed nursing homes in the country. As of March 31, he said, that number had dropped to 14.“We hope that it becomes zero. We have a ways to go,” he said. “But in the last five quarters – that is, through March 31 of this year – in that five-quarter period, total nurse staffing hours statewide are up 15 percent.”Denise Stiger, an organizer for Teamsters Local 743, which represents health care workers in many Chicago-area facilities, said that money has not solved the problem, and that in some nursing homes, one CNA still could have as many as 20 patients to tend to during their shift.“We have to deal with the owners because they're slum lords. That's what they are,” she said. “And I understand that they get cited, and it's public. But these owners are not looking at that. These owners are looking at these patients as money.”Health care workers at hundreds of Kaiser Permanente hospitals and medical facilities across the U.S. walked off the job on Wednesday morning, in an effort to ramp up pressure on their employer to fix a staffing shortage that has intensified since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Over 75,000 workers — including nurses, emergency department technicians, pharmacists and hundreds of others — went on strike in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, D.C.It is the biggest health care strike in U.S. history, according to the unions.Kaiser, headquartered in Oakland, California, is one of the largest nonprofit health care providers in the United States, serving nearly 13 million patients. Most Kaiser workers who have walked off the job will be on strike for three days, until Saturday morning — except those in Virginia and Washington D.C., who will be on strike for 24 hours.Roughly 1,500 essential workers at four hospitals in Los Angeles County kicked off a five-day strike Monday morning to protest what they claim are dangerous working conditions and unfair labor practices by hospital management.Employees at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood walked off the job and picketed outside while nonunion nurses and staff were brought in to keep the hospital open, according to union organizers.Nurses and other staff at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, and Encino Hospital Medical Center are also participating in the strike through Friday.ST. LOUIS — Nurses at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital walked off their jobs for a 24-hour strike on Monday, a measure they said was necessary after the hospital failed to address their concerns about short staffing.Registered nurses union stages 24-hour strike at SSM Health St. Louis University HospitalMaddi O'Leary, a registered nurse who works in the bone marrow transplant unit, joins other SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital nurses represented by the National Nurses United union in staging a 24-hour strike Monday Sept. 25, 2023, outside the hospital.Christine Tannous, Post-Dispatch“We don't want to be out here,” said Maddi O'Leary, a nurse in the bone marrow transplant unit, who has worked at the hospital for eight years. “We want to be inside taking care of our patients. But we have not been given the resources to do so safely.”In a statement, SSM said the health system was “deeply disappointed” in the union's decision to organize a strike. The hospital said workers from nurse staffing agencies would help fill in where needed.Dozens rallied outside the hospital along South Grand Boulevard Monday, carrying signs and chanting. Nurses described feeling frustrated when they couldn't provide patients the quality of care they wanted to give because their units are understaffed.And when patients have to wait longer for care, health care workers receive backlash from them and their family members, they said. Several emergency department nurses said that they've noticed an increase in patients after South City Hospital, about 4 miles south, closed in early August following financial troubles.O'Leary said that while nursing shifts in her unit ideally are staffed by four nurses, lately there have been shifts with only two. That means she can't take a break because she can't leave the unit staffed by only one nurse.“Enough was enough,” she said.The strike was scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Monday and end at 6:59 a.m. Tuesday. The nurses gave the hospital 10 days' notice.The union, National Nurses United, has represented nurses at the hospital since 2012. Though the nurses have held several protests to pressure SSM to increase staffing levels there, they had never before gone on strike.The nurses' labor agreement expired June 15. They have been in negotiations for a new contract since May and claim there has been little movement in bargaining. With the exception of the VA St. Louis Healthcare System, SLU Hospital is the only hospital in the region where nurses are unionized.SSM accused the California-based nurses union of holding strikes that are “intended to create tension and division within hospitals,” and said the moves are counterproductive to SSM's efforts to recruit and hire nurses.https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/10/11/republicans-ease-off-impeachment-threat-after-supreme-court-accepted-redistricting-case/After months of threatening that they would consider impeaching liberal Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz if she weighed in on a lawsuit over the state's legislative maps, Wisconsin Republican lawmakers have pulled back from the idea. Republicans began raising impeachment before Protasiewicz was even elected in April, with then-Rep. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown) saying during his special election campaign for an open Senate seat that he would consider impeaching her. In August, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he would consider impeaching Protasiewicz if she weighed in on the redistricting lawsuit — stating in a radio interview that he believed she had “pre-judged” the case and that could constitute a violation of her oath of office. Late last week, Protasiewicz ruled against Republican motions requesting that she recuse herself, writing in an opinion that the standard for recusal Republicans were arguing for would be “unworkable.” On the same day, Protasiewicz joined the Court's three other liberals in voting to accept one of two lawsuits filed against the maps. As Republicans floated the impeachment possibility, and state Democrats launched a campaign to raise public opinion against it, Vos said he convened a panel of three former Supreme Court justices to weigh in on the idea. One of those former justices, conservative David Prosser, wrote in an email to Vos on Friday before the court's decision was released that nothing Protasiewicz had done rose to the level of corrupt conduct in office, which along with criminal acts is the standard for impeachment in the state Constitution. “In my view, ‘corrupt conduct' is not a term that is open to a mere political grievance,” Prosser wrote. “If that were the case, legislative bodies could be trading questionable impeachments with considerable frequency.”“To sum up my views, there should be no effort to impeach Justice Protasiewicz on anything we know now,” he continued. “Impeachment is so serious, severe, and rare that it should not be considered unless the subject has committed a crime, or the subject has committed indisputable ‘corrupt conduct' while ‘in office.'”After the Court's decision was released last week, Vos said in a statement that he believes the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately weigh in on the issue. “Justice Protasiewicz should have recused herself. We think the United States Supreme Court precedent compels her recusal, and the United States Supreme Court will have the last word here,” Vos said.Wisconsin's impeachment process requires a simple majority vote of the Assembly to impeach and a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict and remove an official. In addition to Vos' retreat from the threat, multiple Senate Republicans have stated they don't support impeachment, meaning there wouldn't be enough votes in the Senate to remove Protasiewicz. In an audio recording obtained by the Examiner, a staff member for Sen. Rachel Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) told a member of the public that “she does not support impeachment.” Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) also told CBS58 he doesn't support impeachment. Prior to the Court's acceptance of the case, concerns had been raised that under Wisconsin's impeachment statutes, a judge is unable to hear any cases while the Senate is considering conviction — meaning that if the Assembly voted to impeach, the Senate could hold off on a vote in order to delay the case. With the lack of supermajority support for impeachment in the Senate, state Democrats have called for Vos to drop the threats. “While it's long been clear the law wasn't on the Republicans' side, they now lack the votes to pursue conviction in the Senate — underscoring how any impeachment in the Assembly would represent an unprecedented abuse of the Wisconsin Constitution,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Joe Oslund said in a statement. “Broken clocks are right twice a day, and now that David Prosser and Duey Stroebel have somehow emerged as voices of reason here, Robin Vos should have no excuse for not knowing what time it is: time to drop his unconstitutional impeachment threats.”What caught your eye:Wisconsin Examiner, Capitol News Illinois, STL Post Dispatch, LA Times, Washington Post, CNBC, NPR
This week on the Friday Flyover, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan battle for Speaker of the U.S. House | UAW President Shawn Fain announces 8,700 Ford Kentucky Truck plant workers are joining the strike | Nurses are striking around the nation | Wisconsin Supreme Court judge Janet Protasiewicz stands her ground against GOP goofballshttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/republicans-fail-to-coalesce-around-speaker-choice-leaving-house-in-limbo/ar-AA1i49oxhttps://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/11/uaw-launches-strike-against-fords-kentucky-truck-plant-signaling-major-escalation-in-labor-fight.htmlOct. 11 – Today, Ford came to the table with the same offer they submitted to us two weeks ago. It was an unacceptable move that triggered a strong and immediate response.UAW President Shawn Fain and Vice President Chuck Browning called on our 8,700 members at Ford's extremely profitable Kentucky Truck Plant to Stand Up and strike. Our Local 862 members answered the call and walked out today at 6:30 p.m.Our Stand Up strategy has won important victories at the table, but we must go further. We will keep increasing the pressure on Ford and all of the Big Three until we've won our fair share of the record profits we've made at Kentucky Truck and every Big Three plant.Tune in to Facebook Live this Friday, Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. for more announcements on the status of bargaining at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.General Motors last week agreed to include workers at its electric vehicle battery plant in the company's national contract with the union, which Fain called a “transformative win.”Fain said the union expects Chrysler parent Stellantis and Ford to follow suit, including battery plant workers in eventual contract agreements.The UAW has been gradually increasing the strikes since the work stoppages began after the sides failed to reach tentative agreements by Sept 14.The additional workers brings UAW's total to about 34,000 U.S. workers, or roughly 23% of UAW members covered by the expired contracts with the Detroit automakers, who are currently on strike.Fain will give bargaining updates and potentially announce further strikes at 10 a.m. Friday online, the union said Wednesday night.https://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/nurses-unions-push-for-mandatory-staff-to-patient-ratiosSafe Patients Limit Act would cap the number of patients per registered nurseBy PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.comSPRINGFIELD – Unions representing nurses in Illinois are pushing for legislation that would impose mandatory staff-to-patient ratios in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.But lobby groups representing hospitals and nursing homes say they are steadfastly opposed to the legislation, arguing that a nationwide nursing shortage makes it impossible to comply with such a mandate.The proposed Safe Patient Limits Act, by Sen. Celina Villanueva and Rep. Theresa Mah, both Chicago Democrats, was introduced in February and was the subject of a joint hearing last week in Chicago by two House committees. It's an issue that has been discussed in the General Assembly since 2019 but has thus far failed to gain the necessary traction for passage. The latest hearing came just three weeks before lawmakers return to the Capitol for their fall veto session, which begins Oct. 24.“Short staffing isn't a mere inconvenience. It's a dire issue,” said Shaba Andrich, vice president of nursing homes for the SEIU Healthcare employee union. “It's predominantly a Black and brown issue. In historically marginalized communities of Chicago, these issues are magnified. These communities that already face systemic underinvestment are further deprived of adequate nursing care due to chronic short staffing.”The bill calls for setting a maximum number of patients that could be assigned to a registered nurse in specified situations. For example, in units with critical care or intensive care patients, the maximum number of patients per nurse would be just one. In units with pediatric patients, the bill would allow three patients per nurse, and in units with psychiatric patients, the bill would allow four patients per nurse.It also provides some legal protection for nurses, stating that they are to provide their services exclusively in the interest of patients, “unencumbered by the commercial or revenue-generating priorities” of a facility that employs registered professional nurses.Andrich, testifying before the committee last week, disputed the notion that there is a nursing shortage in Illinois. He said there is only “a shortage of caregivers who are refusing to be overworked and undervalued and underpaid,” and that the result of understaffing has direct consequences for patients.“Such understaffing isn't merely an operational concern. It translates into real world consequences,” he said. “Seniors enduring falls, malnutrition, missed medication, avoidable hospitalization, and, tragically, avoidable deaths.”Some of those who testified in favor of the bill accused hospitals and nursing homes of being more concerned about labor costs and profit margins than the best interests of patients.“We need this legislation because hospitals are incentivized to reduce labor costs. This means less staff,” said Jeanine Johnson, a critical care nurse at Ascension St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet. “Hospital executives see budgets and labor costs. Nurses see patients and their lives.”A.J. Wilhelmi, president & CEO of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, a hospital trade group, said it's true that health care providers face significant financial pressures, largely because Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates have not kept pace with the rising cost of health care. But he said contrary to what the unions claimed, there is a significant and growing nursing shortage in Illinois, and the proposed Safe Patient Limits Act would put even more of a financial burden on providers.During his testimony, Wilhelmi cited a state survey into the registered nurse workforce that was conducted by the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center – which is a state agency that works to promote the nursing profession. Of the respondents to that survey, 27 percent indicated an intent to retire within the next five years. The IHA interpreted that and other data in the survey to suggest the state could see a shortage of 14,400 registered nurses by 2025.“I'm deeply concerned that many hospitals in the state, particularly safety net hospitals, critical access hospitals, will be unable to absorb the huge cost that ratios would impose,” he said. “And given the enormous financial pressures that Illinois hospitals already face, if this bill becomes law, they're going to have to make some tough decisions like cutting back services, closing hundreds of beds, and eliminating jobs. And frankly, some of our hospitals might be forced to close.”Andy Allison, deputy director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the agency that administers the state's Medicaid program, suggested that the key to solving the staffing issues in hospitals and nursing homes is to raise wages to make the jobs more attractive.He noted that last year, lawmakers passed a significant overhaul of the way the state reimburses nursing homes through Medicaid, adding roughly $700 million in the form of incentives to increase wages and hire more staff.Before those reforms were adopted, he said, Illinois was home to 46 of the 100 worst-staffed nursing homes in the country. As of March 31, he said, that number had dropped to 14.“We hope that it becomes zero. We have a ways to go,” he said. “But in the last five quarters – that is, through March 31 of this year – in that five-quarter period, total nurse staffing hours statewide are up 15 percent.”Denise Stiger, an organizer for Teamsters Local 743, which represents health care workers in many Chicago-area facilities, said that money has not solved the problem, and that in some nursing homes, one CNA still could have as many as 20 patients to tend to during their shift.“We have to deal with the owners because they're slum lords. That's what they are,” she said. “And I understand that they get cited, and it's public. But these owners are not looking at that. These owners are looking at these patients as money.”Health care workers at hundreds of Kaiser Permanente hospitals and medical facilities across the U.S. walked off the job on Wednesday morning, in an effort to ramp up pressure on their employer to fix a staffing shortage that has intensified since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Over 75,000 workers — including nurses, emergency department technicians, pharmacists and hundreds of others — went on strike in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, D.C.It is the biggest health care strike in U.S. history, according to the unions.Kaiser, headquartered in Oakland, California, is one of the largest nonprofit health care providers in the United States, serving nearly 13 million patients. Most Kaiser workers who have walked off the job will be on strike for three days, until Saturday morning — except those in Virginia and Washington D.C., who will be on strike for 24 hours.Roughly 1,500 essential workers at four hospitals in Los Angeles County kicked off a five-day strike Monday morning to protest what they claim are dangerous working conditions and unfair labor practices by hospital management.Employees at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood walked off the job and picketed outside while nonunion nurses and staff were brought in to keep the hospital open, according to union organizers.Nurses and other staff at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, and Encino Hospital Medical Center are also participating in the strike through Friday.ST. LOUIS — Nurses at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital walked off their jobs for a 24-hour strike on Monday, a measure they said was necessary after the hospital failed to address their concerns about short staffing.Registered nurses union stages 24-hour strike at SSM Health St. Louis University HospitalMaddi O'Leary, a registered nurse who works in the bone marrow transplant unit, joins other SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital nurses represented by the National Nurses United union in staging a 24-hour strike Monday Sept. 25, 2023, outside the hospital.Christine Tannous, Post-Dispatch“We don't want to be out here,” said Maddi O'Leary, a nurse in the bone marrow transplant unit, who has worked at the hospital for eight years. “We want to be inside taking care of our patients. But we have not been given the resources to do so safely.”In a statement, SSM said the health system was “deeply disappointed” in the union's decision to organize a strike. The hospital said workers from nurse staffing agencies would help fill in where needed.Dozens rallied outside the hospital along South Grand Boulevard Monday, carrying signs and chanting. Nurses described feeling frustrated when they couldn't provide patients the quality of care they wanted to give because their units are understaffed.And when patients have to wait longer for care, health care workers receive backlash from them and their family members, they said. Several emergency department nurses said that they've noticed an increase in patients after South City Hospital, about 4 miles south, closed in early August following financial troubles.O'Leary said that while nursing shifts in her unit ideally are staffed by four nurses, lately there have been shifts with only two. That means she can't take a break because she can't leave the unit staffed by only one nurse.“Enough was enough,” she said.The strike was scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Monday and end at 6:59 a.m. Tuesday. The nurses gave the hospital 10 days' notice.The union, National Nurses United, has represented nurses at the hospital since 2012. Though the nurses have held several protests to pressure SSM to increase staffing levels there, they had never before gone on strike.The nurses' labor agreement expired June 15. They have been in negotiations for a new contract since May and claim there has been little movement in bargaining. With the exception of the VA St. Louis Healthcare System, SLU Hospital is the only hospital in the region where nurses are unionized.SSM accused the California-based nurses union of holding strikes that are “intended to create tension and division within hospitals,” and said the moves are counterproductive to SSM's efforts to recruit and hire nurses.https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/10/11/republicans-ease-off-impeachment-threat-after-supreme-court-accepted-redistricting-case/After months of threatening that they would consider impeaching liberal Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz if she weighed in on a lawsuit over the state's legislative maps, Wisconsin Republican lawmakers have pulled back from the idea. Republicans began raising impeachment before Protasiewicz was even elected in April, with then-Rep. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown) saying during his special election campaign for an open Senate seat that he would consider impeaching her. In August, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he would consider impeaching Protasiewicz if she weighed in on the redistricting lawsuit — stating in a radio interview that he believed she had “pre-judged” the case and that could constitute a violation of her oath of office. Late last week, Protasiewicz ruled against Republican motions requesting that she recuse herself, writing in an opinion that the standard for recusal Republicans were arguing for would be “unworkable.” On the same day, Protasiewicz joined the Court's three other liberals in voting to accept one of two lawsuits filed against the maps. As Republicans floated the impeachment possibility, and state Democrats launched a campaign to raise public opinion against it, Vos said he convened a panel of three former Supreme Court justices to weigh in on the idea. One of those former justices, conservative David Prosser, wrote in an email to Vos on Friday before the court's decision was released that nothing Protasiewicz had done rose to the level of corrupt conduct in office, which along with criminal acts is the standard for impeachment in the state Constitution. “In my view, ‘corrupt conduct' is not a term that is open to a mere political grievance,” Prosser wrote. “If that were the case, legislative bodies could be trading questionable impeachments with considerable frequency.”“To sum up my views, there should be no effort to impeach Justice Protasiewicz on anything we know now,” he continued. “Impeachment is so serious, severe, and rare that it should not be considered unless the subject has committed a crime, or the subject has committed indisputable ‘corrupt conduct' while ‘in office.'”After the Court's decision was released last week, Vos said in a statement that he believes the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately weigh in on the issue. “Justice Protasiewicz should have recused herself. We think the United States Supreme Court precedent compels her recusal, and the United States Supreme Court will have the last word here,” Vos said.Wisconsin's impeachment process requires a simple majority vote of the Assembly to impeach and a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict and remove an official. In addition to Vos' retreat from the threat, multiple Senate Republicans have stated they don't support impeachment, meaning there wouldn't be enough votes in the Senate to remove Protasiewicz. In an audio recording obtained by the Examiner, a staff member for Sen. Rachel Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) told a member of the public that “she does not support impeachment.” Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) also told CBS58 he doesn't support impeachment. Prior to the Court's acceptance of the case, concerns had been raised that under Wisconsin's impeachment statutes, a judge is unable to hear any cases while the Senate is considering conviction — meaning that if the Assembly voted to impeach, the Senate could hold off on a vote in order to delay the case. With the lack of supermajority support for impeachment in the Senate, state Democrats have called for Vos to drop the threats. “While it's long been clear the law wasn't on the Republicans' side, they now lack the votes to pursue conviction in the Senate — underscoring how any impeachment in the Assembly would represent an unprecedented abuse of the Wisconsin Constitution,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Joe Oslund said in a statement. “Broken clocks are right twice a day, and now that David Prosser and Duey Stroebel have somehow emerged as voices of reason here, Robin Vos should have no excuse for not knowing what time it is: time to drop his unconstitutional impeachment threats.”What caught your eye:Wisconsin Examiner, Capitol News Illinois, STL Post Dispatch, LA Times, Washington Post, CNBC, NPR
The All Local morning update for Saturday, September 16, 2023.
On August 3rd and August 4th, the nurses of Rochester General Hospital in Rochester New York, went on a 2 day strike. The nurses were striking for safe nurse to patient ratios and fair wages. As of today, the hospital still has not made any changes and the negotiations between the hospital and the union representing the nurses continue. Nurse Erica and Nurse Jessica Sites spent a full day on the strike line in Rochester, and in this podcast we take you behind the scenes and fill you in on all the details.
Ana Jakopič is a lawyer, organizer, and trade union leader in Slovenia. We talk to Ana about the different kinds of workers she organizes with on a daily basis, the struggles working people across Slovenia are facing, and how connected/disconnected those struggles currently feel to the strikes taking place in Europe and beyond. But we also talk about Ana's life and her winding path into the labor movement; we talk about growing up in the post-Yugoslavian world, and about the impacts the Russo-Ukrainian War is having on Slovenians' lives today. Additional links/info below... Ana's Twitter page Maximillian Alvarez, Breaking Points, "'We Need ESCALATION': More STRIKES Coming In UK And France" The Real News Network, Workers of the World (series) AFP, "Thousands of Nurses Strike over Wages and Poor Working Conditions in Slovenia" People's Health Dispatch, "Health Workers in Slovenia Go on Strike" Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
Nurses at Mount Sinai (UES) and Montefiore hospitals are out on strike after negotiations broke down overnight. Caroline Lewis, health reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, calls from Mount Sinai and Nancy Hagans, president of the New York State Nurses Association, talks about their reasons for striking and the key issue of enforcement of staffing ratios.
Chris talks with Danielle, a nurse at Methodist Hospital and a steward for the Minnesota Nurses Association, about the massive nurses strike in Minnesota and the conditions of nurses in the US. https://mnpatientsbeforeprofits.com/act-now/ https://www.leftvoice.org/hear-a-striking-minnesota-nurse-speak-out-about-the-exploitative-working-conditions-nurses-face/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.