Posted on 10/15/2009 12:41:55 PM PDT by SmithL
WASHINGTON - The nation's nurses have an idea for how to improve health care: Allow more of them to unionize.
But as they press Congress to approve a bill that would make it easier to organize, nurses and other unions have identified a big obstacle in California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
While President Barack Obama and a majority of Democratic senators are behind the Employee Free Choice Act, Feinstein is not. And after she scored a perfect 100 rating from the AFL-CIO last year, many union activists are scratching their heads, wondering why Feinstein has parted ways with them on their signature issue.
Although the state's senior senator has backed similar legislation in the past, she is sticking to her guns. She said she didn't co-sponsor the bill this year because it wouldn't make sense to pass it during a recession.
"This is an extraordinarily difficult economy, and feelings are very strong on both sides of the issue," Feinstein said. "I would hope there is some way to find common ground that would be agreeable to both business and labor."
Without Feinstein's support, bill supporters fear they may not be able to get the 60 votes necessary to overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate.
Unions accuse Feinstein of waffling. And they're not buying the now-is-not-the-time argument.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
The unions need to buy votes that will stay bought. This is an object lesson for them.
I also recommend that they show their displeasure for her recalcitrence by not donating to her re-election coffers ever again! That’ll show her!
It would be very interesting to know Feinstein’s REAL reason for betraying her union donors. You know darn well it has nothing to do with damage to the economy or the tough job market. Doing damage to the US has never bothered her before. Maybe her husbands businesses would be affected, or perhaps those of big time donors or friends.
My wife is an ER Nurse. She doesn’t want to be in a Union at all!
Wow, two things in a week that I agree with Feinstein on.
Thanks Diane. Tweaking leftists as an admirable trait.
It would be very interesting to know Feinstein’s REAL reason for betraying her union donors. You know darn well it has nothing to do with damage to the economy or the tough job market. Doing damage to the US has never bothered her before. Maybe her husbands businesses would be affected, or perhaps those of big time donors or friends.
Feinstein is one of the biggest pushers of the anti-American H-1B visa program...which brings in foreigners (with less skills) that basically take jobs from Americans...the foreigners work for less money
There are many nurses on H-1B visas....albeit there is a true nursing shortage in some areas of America. Of course, this shortage was caused by lower-paid foreigners bringing down the real market wages of all American nurses...and American nurses quit nursing.
Nurses are better off without a union (they are professionals...do not need a union)....but you have to wonder how stupid the unionistas are for giving to Feinstein....when she takes so much money from companies that do not want to hire Americans
Ok, Unions are for artificially raising the wages of morons who normally could not compete in today’s world.
Nurses are not morons and they don’t need their wages artificially raised.
Nurses in fact are people that need to slave away so that the Union Morons get some level of health care at an affordable price.
The Nurses’ Union went to the California Legislature and got them to pass minimum staffing levels for nurses. That is the kind of power other unions can only dream about.
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