Replies

http://socialistworker.org/2011/03/02/nurses-on-the-road-to-madison

Helen Redmond, a social worker in Chicago, describes the “festival of fighters” she encountered on a trip to Madison, Wis., with a delegation from National Nurses United.

When asked about the solution to the health care crisis, Mona Cetner, an RN on the inpatient general medicine unit at U of C, said without hesitation, “Single-payer. Health care is a right, not a privilege. Our health care is shameful. We should hang our heads in shame. Medicine shouldn’t be for profit. It’s corporate greed.”

......Once in the rotunda, the crowd erupted as the nurses, signs held high, marched in and stood behind the drummers in a semi-circle. Reasheal addressed the crowd and said, “Health care is a human right. We are here from Chicago to support your struggle.” A massive cheer went up. There were dozens of signs in the crowd that spoke to the health care crisis including one that asserted, “Mental health care is a human right.”

Then the firefighters marched into the crowd and through the rotunda in full gear, the piercing red and white lights of their battered, black helmets turned on. They high-fived the nurses. The next group of workers was a huge contingent of sheet metal workers. Who knew there were so many sheetmetal workers and what do they do?

Jimmy Hoffa Jr. of the Teamsters showed up, addressed the crowd and invoked the labor slogan, “An injury to one is an injury to all.” After he left, the woman chairing the ongoing mass meeting in the rotunda held up two fingers that signified for the chanting to stop and for people to listen.

Everyone complied. She stood on a plastic milk crate, took the microphone and read out solidarity greetings from Egypt. When she finished the room exploded into whooping and clapping. A new chant began, “We are one, we are one,” and then morphed into, “One, One, One,” over and over again.

But the chant heard consistently throughout the day was “This is what democracy looks like.” ...............