Seachange Bulletin #90September 5, 2002Seachange Bulletin ArchivesEmail the editorLabor Day Messages US Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, Iowa AFL-CIO State Convention, August 14, 2002 I was born into the House of Labor. ... The hopes and dreams of the men and women who sent me to congress are the stars by which I journey. Whenever there is an organizing campaign, a picket line to walk, jobs to save, working conditions to improve, laws to champion, I'm there. This is my purpose: To stand up and to speak out on behalf of those who have built this country and who want to rebuild this country. This is my passion: To raise up the rights of working people. Workers' rights are the key to protecting our democracy. ... Worker's rights are human rights. Today, let us begin anew to rededicate our efforts to bring economic justice to those who have created the wealth through their work. A re-energized labor movement will reenergize America's politics and create a more just society. Your cause is the cause of our nation. Your dream is the American dream. The cause of union, of brotherhood and sisterhood, is felt in the worker's anthem. Solidarity can be the song which echoes across this land. ... For decades labor has been telling the nation about the dangers of unchecked corporate power. ... We need a Democratic Party which will ensure the right to organize by establishing an automatic union once half the workers sign up. ... Yet there needs to be equal concern for those who created the wealth through their labor. Because the attacks on unions are a means of redistributing the wealth upwards. ... We need to feel in every cell of our bodies that power which comes from union: the power which confirms our purpose, the power when focused and directed will save our nation by saving the Democratic Party from the clutches of corporate interests. ... Labor cannot afford to settle for half-hearted nominees or half measures which keep in place a system which is destroying our democracy through trade agreements which transfer sovereign power to the World Trade Organization, undermine our economy and devastate workers' ability to defend themselves. "All that harms labor is treason," said President Lincoln. "If any man tells you that he loves America (but) he hates labor, he is a liar." Supporters of the decaying system of injustice continue to advance propositions which are an offense to basic fairness and workers' dignity. ... Labor in Wartime: Some Lessons from History <http://www.laborstandard.org/Vol4No1/Labor_in_Wartime.htm> David Montgomery, Labor Standard, Spring/Summer 2002 On September 11 of last year some 3,000 people were killed as a result of murderous aerial attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In the northeastern part of the country, thousands of working men and women of all races and many nationalities still suffer every day from the loss of loved ones, of jobs, and of their dreams for a better future as a result of those attacks. We are often told that September 11 changed everything in America . But the closer we look, the more we see that has not changed. The economic crisis that has cost so many jobs in both manufacturing and service industries had already gathered plenty of steam months before the bombing attacks. The President and Congress have proclaimed a War against Terrorism. What does that mean to the struggles and hopes of working people? Our country went through a lot of wars in the last 100 years: two huge world wars, a bloody three-year war to suppress the Philippines' independence struggle after 1900, marine occupation of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua during the 1910s and 1920s, and then since 1945 there came Korea and Vietnam - both long and bloody - and also the swift assaults on Grenada, Panama, and Iraq, to name only the best known [wars or military actions since World War II]. But the War on Terrorism is different. This time Congress gave the President war powers, but it did not even name the country we were going to war with. Bush publicly targeted any country which supports or shelters terrorists. And only one member of Congress (Barbara Lee of California) even raised a question about it. ... Initial Report on the Labor Party Convention <http://www.laborstandard.org/New_Postings/Labor_Party_Report_by_Bill_O.htm> Bill Onasch, August, 2002 More than 400 delegates and observers gathered at the Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC July 25-28 for the Labor Party's Second Constitutional Convention. Represented were six international unions; 49 affiliated state and local union bodies; five endorsing locals; five state Labor Party bodies; 18 LP local chapters and organizing committees; and several worker organizations affiliated to LP such as the Kensington Welfare Rights Union in Philadelphia and the Women's Economic Agenda. Among those in attendance were the principal officers of the United Steelworkers; United Mine Workers; United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers (UE); the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC); the South Carolina state AFL-CIO; the New Jersey Industrial Union Council; the California Nurses Association (CNA); the Midwest Board of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees (UNITE); and the largest Teamsters Local in the country. The convention was welcomed by the President of the Metropolitan Washington Council, the AFL-CIO central labor body. ... United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard told the delegates he had a tough time choosing which of the many crises facing labor to talk about. Gerard is Canadian and a firm supporter of that country's much slandered health care system. He recounted how this was won through a long, hard, grass-roots struggle that achieved initial victories in a few provinces before securing a nation-wide system. He commended the Labor Party for its campaign and urged delegates to continue to challenge labor to fight for real universal health care. Gerard also touched on the recent corporate scandals. ... He allowed this was not a case of a few bad apples in the barrel - the apple itself was rotten to the core. Of course the Steelworkers have been very active in the fight against globalization. Their union has lost 100,000 jobs in just the past three years due to trade agreements. ... Enough Democrat "friends of labor" joined the Republicans to give Bush a free hand to negotiate further deals to help the multinational corporations. ... On this Labor Day, swindled workers count their losses <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/240/oped/On_this_Labor_Day_swindled_workers _count_their_losses+.shtml> Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe, August 28, 2002 THE WEEKEND to celebrate the fruits of our labor has been supplanted by the shock of discovering that the orchard has been picked clean, with only the cores of 401(k)s left scattered on the ground. Undaunted, Americans will flock to the beach for one last moment of solar serenity, hoping that when they return to the parking lot they will not discover that the CEOs have struck again, leaving broken glass and a hole in the glove compartment where the wallet used to be. That assumes that the car itself will be there. ... It remains to be seen whether this historic theft of American labor is enough to inspire a revolutionary yell against renegade capitalism. Up to now, corporate America has successfully distracted us from white-collar crime by throwing us a lot of toys to make us think we feel the power - cellphones, big-screen TVs, PCs, DVDs, and SUVs. Politicians and the media have distracted us with stereotypes. In the 1980s and '90s, the symbol of greed was welfare mothers, not the corporate welfare kings and queens whose tax breaks cost the federal treasury a quarter of a trillion dollars a year ... That was 11 times more than welfare for the poor. ... Afghanistan Afghan health system overtaxed <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/242/nation/Afghan_health_system_overtaxed+. shtml> Los Angeles Times, August 30, 2002 KABUL, Afghanistan - Health officials here warned yesterday that the rising tide of returning refugees poses significant health risks for a country already suffering one of the world's highest rates of infant and maternal mortality. The influx of Afghans returning from Pakistan, Iran, and other countries has severely burdened a health system already taxed by war, drought, and food shortages, said Dr. Abdullah Fahim, spokesman for the Health Ministry. Since March, about 1.5 million Afghans have returned in what refugee officials have characterized as one of the fastest repatriations on record, and three times the rate of initial estimates. About one-third, or 500,000, have come to Kabul, swelling the capital's population by about 25 percent. ... Brazil 16 banks give Brazil a boost Vow to maintain credit lines; markets rally <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/239/business/16_banks_give_Brazil_a_boost+. shtml> Reuters, August 27, 2002 SAO PAULO - Despite uncertainty over Brazil's October presidential vote, a group of major global banks pledged to stand by Latin America's largest economy, giving a boost to the nation's battered financial markets. After meeting in New York with Brazilian Central Bank president Arminio Fraga and Finance Minister Pedro Malan, the group of 16 banks, including Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase, and Deutsche Bank, said in a statement they were committed to Brazil and its economic program over the long term, and vowed to maintain their general level of trade credit lines. Though the banks stopped short of pledging fresh cash for Brazilian companies, both Fraga and market watchers said their stance represented a key step in boosting confidence in the country's financial health ahead of the elections. ... Brazilian financial markets have taken a pounding in recent months as investors fret over the outcome of the country's most contested presidential race in more than a decade, leaving both the currency and the stock market about a quarter weaker than where they started the year. Canada Nurses walk out of crowded emergency room <http://montreal.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=nurses020819> CBC Montréal, August 19, 2002 Montréal - Emergency room nurses at the Montréal General Hospital have walked off the job. Nine nurses on the evening shift walked out because of the overcrowding situation at the hospital's emergency room. The nurses say there are 65 patients waiting on stretchers in corridors near the emergency room. The Montréal General Hospital's emergency room is equipped to handle about 28 patients. The nurses say they'll go back to work if their demands are met. They want more doctors assigned to the emergency room, and they want the hospital to find room for patients who are ready to be admitted. ... the hospital is opening beds that were previously closed. Nurses, teachers 'in crisis' Still dedicated despite hardships, survey finds <http://www.canada.com/montreal/story.asp?id={C66CE2B2-760F-4F62-BD07-B927E590 45E9}> Kathryn May, Montréal Gazette, August 25, 2002 Canada's nurses, doctors and teachers are the most committed, overworked, stressed and politically maligned workers in the country, a landmark federal study of nearly 31,500 working Canadians indicates. It found that those employed in health, education and other social services work the hardest and longest but feel the least appreciated and believe they are unfairly blamed for mismanaged systems. Linda Duxbury, a co-author of the National Work-Life Conflict Study, said the health and education professions have been so badly "devalued" by years of job cuts and poor labour relations that the country's schools and hospitals can't keep or attract workers. ... Union says nursing home layoffs dangerous <http://nb.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=dm_nursing082802> CBC, August 28, 2002 Moncton, NB - A union representing New Brunswick's nursing home workers says layoffs in the Moncton area will make the existing staffing problem worse. All security staff at the Villa du Repos in Moncton, and the Villa Providence in Shediac will lose their jobs in the next several weeks. Nursing home staff already they have a hard time coping with their workload. They went on strike over the issue last summer. Most workers are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees. CUPE official Daniel Bernatchez says the province commissioned two reports to look at the workload problem. "Both of these reports stated very clearly that nursing homes are short-staffed," he says. ... Finland Study even surprises researchers: "An unfair boss is as big a health risk for an employee as an unhealthy lifestyle" <http://www.kaapeli.fi/unions/2002/20020830.htm> Hilkka Kotkamaa, SAK, August 30, 2002 Helsinki. According to a new study, an unfair boss at the workplace poses a clear risk to employee health. ... The researchers noted that their findings bring an unfair boss up to the more familiar health risk levels caused by unhealthy lifestyles. ... The study focused on large workplaces that had undergone radical restructuring, and was based on a sample of 3,570 female and 506 male employees in regular and temporary employment at hospitals. ... Employees quarrel under poor management ... Bad treatment causes stress ... Human nature insists on justice. ... Iraq No New War Against Iraq -- Keep the Government Off the Docks! (resolution adopted by the San Francisco Labor Council on August 26, 2002) Whereas, the San Francisco Labor Council has for many years opposed the US bombing and sanctions against Iraq, which have resulted in dire shortages of food and medicine and contributed to the deaths of over 1 million Iraqis, including 500,000 children; and Whereas, now the Bush administration is beating the drums for a new war against Iraq, despite mounting opposition to this war at home and abroad; and Whereas, in early 1998 the US government's drive to launch a new war against Iraq was abruptly halted by a rising opposition movement that included the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the San Francisco Labor Council, the Alameda Central Labor Council, and the students who debated Defense Secretary Cohen and Secretary of State Albright on national television at Ohio State University, which showed that the labor movement and people's movement do have the potential to force a reversal of unjust government policies; and Whereas, wasting billions of dollars on the Iraq war buildup translated into cutbacks of essential job-producing social programs at home such as education, health care, social security and housing, and threatening the rights of labor to strike and organize; and Whereas, the Bush administration's war drive has a domestic component -- threatening to turn his "endless war" against the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) as an opening wedge against the entire labor movement, by threatening government intervention on the West Coast docks under the guise of "Homeland Security," on the side of the Pacific Maritime Association bosses and a coalition of anti-union corporate interests, including WalMart and The Gap; therefore be it Resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO) reaffirm and join the growing movement in opposition to any US war against Iraq, and call on the unions and AFL-CIO at all levels and Congressional representatives to publicly oppose this war; and be it further Resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council strongly condemn any attempt by the government, at any level, to introduce troops or otherwise intervene in the contract dispute between the ILWU and the employers, and call on Congressional representatives to publicly oppose this interference; and be it further Resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council endorse the "Stop-the-War" marches and rallies taking place September 14-16 in Oakland, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and other cities, as well as International Day of Protest on October 26, 2002, behind the banner, "No New War Against Iraq -- Keep the Government Off the Docks!" Cheney speech seen setting path to war <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/240/nation/Cheney_speech_seen_setting_path_ to_war+.shtml> John Donnelly & Susan Milligan, Boston Globe, August 28, 2002 WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has set itself on a ''path toward war'' against Iraq with Vice President Dick Cheney's forceful speech on Monday, accelerating the campaign to win over allies to oust Saddam Hussein, conservative and liberal analysts agreed yesterday. 'The debate is over,'' said William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard and a former senior official in the first Bush presidency whose views are influential with members of the current administration. ''It marks a transition from an administration weighing what to do to an administration beginning to make its case at home and abroad over the next two or three weeks in favor of an attack.'' ... Antiwar protesters picket Kerry's office <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/243/metro/Antiwar_protesters_picket_Kerry_s _office+.shtml> Chris Tangney, Boston Globe, August 31, 2002 Denouncing the prospect of war with Iraq, protesters rallied outside US Senator John Kerry's office in downtown Boston yesterday while members of an antiwar group met with the junior senator's policy aides. Carrying signs of ''Say No to War'' and ''Attack Iraq - NO,'' about 80 demonstrators crowded the sidewalk and handed out fliers arguing against a US invasion against Saddam Hussein. They called for more weapons inspections and said a unilateral move by the United States would have devastating effects in the Middle East. 'There's no evidence that Saddam Hussein is an imminent danger,'' said Mike Tannert, a retired GTE employee and a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should ''focus on homeland security, like protecting our nuclear plants from being attacked,'' Tannert added. After meeting for an hour with Kerry's senior policy adviser, Mark Sterman, 10 members of MoveOn.org, which organized the rally, said they were encouraged that the senator supports their right to ask questions and voice concerns. They said Sterman urged them to lobby congressional members and enlist peers to demonstrate their dissent. ... A new kind of casus belli on Iraq <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/243/oped/A_new_kind_of_casus_belli_on_Iraq+ .shtml> George F. Will, Boston Globe, August 31, 2002 ''Polish regular officers fired on our territory. Since 5:45 a.m. we have been returning the fire.'' - Adolf Hitler, Sept. 1, 1939 IT WAS A particularly contemptible case of vice paying homage to virtue when Hitler spoke those words - ''returning fire,'' indeed - in the first hours of the Second World War. But the virtue - having a casus belli before going to war - is so universally acknowledged that even Hitler paid homage to it. Immediately before he attacked Poland, the SS staged a provocation - a ''Polish'' attack on a radio station near Poland's border, a sham that included corpses of German ''victims'' - actually, concentration camp inmates shot by the SS. This is pertinent to America's debate about preemptive war against Iraq, not because the administration's aims are disreputable or its contemplated justifications are meretricious, but because the administration is conscientiously groping for a way to do something morally defensible and to do it in a way consistent with norms of international and constitutional practice. Without guidance from any precedent in this republic's history, the administration is improvising diplomatic and constitutional etiquette for launching preventive war without what has normally been recognized as a casus belli. ... Tigris & Euphrates: Streams of Consciousness Iraq - ancient Mesopotamia - Fertile Crescent's eastern anchor - Cradle of Civilization - Sumer & Akkad - Babylon & Nineveh - epitome of medieval Arabic culture - Sultan's vassal - imperialists' pawn - England's booty - puppet kingdom - revolutionary republic - binational state of Arabs & Kurds - tripartite government - Cuba of the East - nationalized oil - corruption & betrayal internal & external - labor leaders tortured to death - Kurdish villages razed - US surrogate against Iran - border war with Kuwait - Saba family driven from power - oil imperialists' revenge - Stone Age revisited - retreatants napalmed - George's folly - Slick Willie's distraction - half a million children dead prematurely from diarrhea & hunger - weapons of mass destruction (hey, what about Tokyo, Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki?) - prior pontiff's "No more war, war never again!" - Voices of Hope, Boston's Faneuil Hall, Monday, September 9th @ 6:30 PM - bereaved families from Afghanistan, Iraq, Hiroshima, Israel, Palestine, the Philippines ... Ireland Nurses, postal workers protest as Ireland's labor unrest spreads <http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020820/ap_wo_en_po/irelan d_worker_unrest_1> Associated Press, August 20, 2002 DUBLIN, Ireland - Ireland's troubles with an increasingly restless work force mounted Tuesday as mail officials and nurses mounted protests over pay and conditions. ... At St. Vincent's Hospital in west Dublin, the Irish Nurses Organization staged a picket over staff cuts at one 16-bed wing, the latest in a string of protests in Ireland's overloaded medical service. Nurses union leaders said St. Vincent's hospital managers had reneged on a deal to ensure at least three overnight staff. They warned their protest - which included refusing to answer phones, administer drugs or wash infirm patients - would spread to other St. Vincent's wings and other hospitals if managers didn't back down. ... Proposed cuts in health service provoke clashes <http://www.online.ie/news/irish_examiner/viewer.adp?article=1822222> Fionnán Sheahan, The Irish Examiner, August 31, 2002 The Western Health Board clashed again with the Department of Health and health service unions yesterday after details emerged of the scope of the planned lay-offs. The health board released a list of 169 temporary workers it is planning to sack as part of the 1.15m euro cutback in its budget demanded by the department. The lay-offs include nurses, ward attendants, laboratory staff and clerical workers. The health board was instructed to not fill 85 clerical and administrative jobs this year to meet its budgetary requirements. Across the country, the department has ordered 800 health board posts remain vacant in a bid to save 10m euro as part of a 38m euro cutbacks package. But the board responded by saying it would need to lay off 200 temporary workers, sparking a row with the Department of Health. ... Israel /Palestine Crackdown has Palestinians in desperate poverty, UN says <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/242/nation/Crackdown_has_Palestinians_in_de sperate_poverty_UN_says+.shtml> Reuters, August 30, 2002 JERUSALEM - Israel's military clampdown is causing an economic disaster in Palestinian areas and breeding chronic violence, a senior UN envoy said yesterday. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Middle East envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, said he would meet Israeli leaders in a bid to relax their grip on Palestinian society, which he said is punishing countless innocent people and wooing recruits to violence. 'Palestinian society is scrambling to survive. So, within the next few days I will meet with senior Israel officials and urge them to reexamine security measures which we feel'' amount to unnecessary ''collective punishment,'' Roed-Larsen said. ... Israel apologizes for the killing of 4 Palestinian civilians <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/242/nation/Israel_apologizes_for_the_killin g_of_4_Palestinian_civilians+.shtml> Mark Lavie, Associated Press, August 30, 2002 JERUSALEM - Israel expressed regret yesterday for the deaths of four Palestinian civilians in army shelling - deaths that disrupted shaky steps toward reducing tensions in Gaza. Violence continued yesterday. In Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, Palestinians said. Residents said Israeli forces opened fire after children threw rocks and bottles at Israeli tanks that were tearing down structures. The Israeli military said soldiers in Rafah found a tunnel used for smuggling arms across the border. The tunnel was in a house, the military statement said, and soldiers blew it up. During the operation, Palestinians fired rifles and threw hand grenades, firebombs, and rocks at the soldiers, who returned the fire, the military said. In the West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli forces entered the Palestinian government headquarters and set off explosives, a witness said. Residents said they heard a huge explosion all over the city, and witnesses said part of the fortress-like three-story building was destroyed. No casualties were reported. ... Palestinian urges end to suicide bombings Security chief Yehiyeh breaks from Arafat's recent stance on terror <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/243/nation/Palestinian_urges_end_to_suicide _bombings+.shtml> Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe, August 31, 2002 JERUSALEM - In a sign that even top aides to Yasser Arafat may be wearying of the 23-month-old uprising against Israel, Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel Razak Yehiyeh urged an end to suicide bombings against Israeli targets, calling such attacks ''murders with no reason.'' Yehiyeh, whose real power stems from his duties as the Palestinian security chief, said he had met with leaders of Palestinian militant groups, including the Islamic Jihad and Hamas, and demanded that they abandon suicide attacks, scores of which have killed hundreds of Israeli civilians in recent months, provoking a massive military crackdown on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. ... Israeli ambush kills 3 militants, 2 children <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/244/nation/Israeli_ambush_kills_3_militants _2_children+.shtml> Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe, September 1, 2002 JERUSALEM - Israeli helicopters ambushed a speeding automobile near the West Bank city of Jenin yesterday, killing three suspected Palestinian militants inside the vehicle but also taking the lives of two children playing at the roadside. The strike marked the third time in less than a month that Israeli forces accidentally killed Palestinian civilians during actions on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including the deaths of four members of one family early Thursday. "This was a brutal act of murder,'' Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat said of the latest attack. ''That is a continuous policy of assassinations by the Israeli government that undermines all efforts to revive the hope of peace.'' ... Five killed in Mideast clashes Israel issues apology for civilian casualties <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/245/nation/Five_killed_in_Mideast_clashes+. shtml> Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe, September 2, 2002 JERUSALEM - Gun battles between Israeli troops and militants flared yesterday across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, leaving at least five Palestinians dead and five wounded as the region appeared to be free-falling into a new round of bloodshed. Israel, meanwhile, expressed regret for the killing of two children and wounding of other Palestinian civilians Saturday during a helicopter attack on a car carrying two militants. And last night, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer ordered the military to investigate a series of recent army operations in which several civilians were killed. ... Korea Mass Layoffs Aggravate Hospital Walkout <http://www.hankooki.com/kt_nation/200208/t2002082517053241110.htm> Korea Times, August 25, 2002 A physical clash followed mass layoffs at Halla Hospital on the southern island of Cheju, where the nurses and technicians have been striking for two months in an attempt to improve the rights of irregular workers. At 4 a.m. yesterday morning, some 100 men hired from private security firms stormed into the first floor of the hospital and scattered the strikers by force. The use of violence left more than 20 injured, according to the Halla union. The incident came three days after the mass firing of union members at the resort island's biggest clinic. In one of the harshest measures ever taken against a walkout in Korea, the management fired 108 out of the 115 participants. The work stoppage began on May 29, centering on the demand for irregular workers to receive negotiating rights and job security. The union also demanded a 12-percent wage hike and guaranteed minimum wage of 850,000 won ($707). ... Gov't Issues Warning on Health Workers' Strike <http://www.hankooki.com/kt_nation/200208/t2002082918230641110.htm> Korea Times, August 29, 2002 With the heated health workers' strike entering into its 100th day today, the government yesterday issued an ultimatum to the workers, threatening to use public powers at the seven hospitals involved. "The extreme standoff between labor and management has left little chance for a settlement," a statement released after a meeting of society-related ministers yesterday morning said. "Prolonged illegal strikes would be dealt with according to the law, without exceptions." Vice ministers of health-welfare, labor and education visited St. Mary's Hospital and Kyung Hee University Hospital in the afternoon to deliver their message. In response, the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions said it would marshal all its resources against the government if it cracks down on the strikes. "We urge the government to allow labor and management to resolve the issue with dialogue and negotiation," the umbrella union that the 4,000 striking health workers belong to said in a press conference. The government should first abolish the mandatory mediation system that makes virtually all hospital strikes illegal, it added. The management, for its part, demanded "immediate and stern" the striking workers. ... Lebanon Labor Ministry acts in hospital employees union sacking Daily Star, August 23, 2002 Labor Ministry director general Rateb Saliba reversed the American University Hospital's "illegal" decision to fire the head of the institution's employees union. Saliba sent a letter to the hospital's administration Thursday, in which he indicated that the action to fire Mohammed Zayyat was "illegal and runs contrary to civil liberties enjoyed by unions under the law." For its part, the Amal Movement issued a statement warning the hospital of the severity of its actions and pledging to support the workers, "including any plans for sit-ins or strikes." Amal asked that hospital administrators reinstate Zayyat and Hassan Haddad, a union worker fired three months ago. General Labor Confederation president Ghassan Ghosn warned the government against "targeting" union officials. New Zealand Nurses' union 'horrified' at $100m spent on recruitment <http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,,1279451a11,00.html> July 27, 2002 The cash-strapped health sector spent $100 million on recruiting nurses last year - money their union says could have been better spent improving working conditions for existing staff. District health boards are facing debts of about $270 million. The Nurse Executives of New Zealand, a group representing the nursing directors from each district health board, confirmed yesterday that an estimated $100 million was spent on recruiting nurses last year. This included advertising vacancies, orientation and downtime while new nurses learn the ropes. Critics said the $100 million would have gone a long way towards retaining nurses in New Zealand, where there are now 2000 vacancies. The nursing shortage has been fuelled partly by a flow of nurses to better paying jobs overseas. At an average cost of $50,000 per nurse per year, $100 million could have paid the salaries of an extra 200 nurses. New Zealand Nurses Organisation chief executive Geoff Annals said the union was "horrified" at the figure. "That money would be better spent with things that can actually make a difference to conditions of work or things that retain nurses in practice," Mr Annals said. ... Upper North Island nurses threaten strike action <http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=2351819&thesection=news&th esubsection=general> Daily Post (Rotorua), August 29, 2002 About 5000 nurses in the upper North Island are threatening to walk off the job in six weeks after the breakdown of their pay talks. The nurses are trying to negotiate a multi-employer collective agreement for better pay and conditions. If industrial action went ahead, services at nine hospitals would be disrupted. Nurses working in the community, such as public health and district health nurses, would also join their colleagues in strike action. Talks have broken down because five district health boards ... are refusing to include about 200 nurse managers in the agreement. The nurses' union, the Nurses Organisation, plans to ballot its members on industrial action in a series of meetings over the next few weeks. ... Papua New Guinea Don't even think about it: Unions <http://www.thenational.com.pg/0822/nation6.htm> The National Online, August 22, 2002 "DON'T even think about it," is the warning issued yesterday by at least seven union branches in Lae, with regard to the National Government's plan to cut public servants' pay. A spokesman for the unions, Public Employees' Association executive Tony Ase, said yesterday that the PEA, the PNGTA, the PNG Fire-fighters, the PNG Nurses, the Allied Health Workers Association, National Doctors and the CIS Union are totally against the move to slash 10 percent off public servants' wages. "They shouldn't even think about it," he said. "Don't they realise how painful it is to even live day to day under the present day's economic climate?" asked Mr Ase. ... Mr Ase said the Government should consider cutting the salaries of the politicians and senior public servants. ... Solomon Islands Solomon Islands Nurses Threaten All-Out Strike <http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/2002/August/08-16-14.htm> Radio New Zealand International, August 15, 2002 HONIARA, Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands Nurses Association says if the government is unable to pay nurses on time, there will be an all-out strike. The 500 members have been working reduced hours since last week, with only the morning shift covered at the hospitals. Clinics are closing their doors at midday. ... Nurses, doctors, teachers and civil aviation workers are all taking strike action because of the government's failure to pay them their wages on time. South Africa Flight of Nurses Abroad Deepens Hospital Crisis <http://allafrica.com/stories/200208050030.html> Cape Argus (Cape Town), August 5, 2002 NURSES, the backbone of health care, are opting out of South Africa's health care industry at a rate of up to 300 every month, deepening a crisis that health providers are scrambling to address. Without nurses, especially the top-notch experienced nurses who staff intensive care units and operating theatres, health delivery falters. "And before anyone tells you it's just a shortage, believe me, it's a crisis, and it can't be called anything other than that," says Dr Saadiq Kariem, senior medical superintendent of Groote Schuur Hospital. And the crisis is not only confined to the state health sector. Private health care groups are trying everything, including offering bursaries to train their own nurses, to fill the gap. But the extent of the disinterest in the profession was evident when one of the country's major private hospital groups, Netcare, which owns Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in the city, received just 50-odd responses from an expensive full-page newspaper advertisement. Even when they do advertise, says sister Joan Brainers, assistant director of nursing at Groote Schuur, they get no responses, especially for highly-qualified nurses essential for some areas of the hospital. Groote Schuur alone spends about R1 million every month on agency nurses called in to fill the gaps. ... United Kingdom Global nursing shortages are often a symptom of wider health system or societal ailments <http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7340/751> James Buchan, BMJ Editorial, March 30, 2002 In October 2001 government chief nurses and other delegates from 66 countries met to discuss how best to deal with a common challengethe global growth of nursing shortages. Nursing shortages in the United Kingdom and elsewhere have been a repetitive phenomenon, usually due to an increasing demand for nurses outstripping static or a more slowly growing supply. This time the situation is more serious. Demand continues to grow, while projections for supply point to actual reductions in the availability of nurses in some developed and developing countries. Some health systems are also coping with the legacy of ill conceived reform projects of the 1990s, which demotivated and disenfranchised nurses and other staff. ... Nurses need more resources to do their job <http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7351/1453> Fiona McLean, BMJ, June 15, 2002 I was a nurse for some years. My response to Buchan's editorial on global nursing shortages is to say that factors such as flexible working hours and continuous professional development may help, but there are more fundamental problems. I gave up nursing in the mid-1980s. I would have gone back like a shot in the following few years if I could have worked somewhere in the NHS that had adequate resources to do the job properly. I have checked with another colleague who left the wards more recently, and she shares this view. During my time as a student in the NHS and then later as a staff nurse in oncology I had to leave alone patients who were dying, alert, and terrified. And be late giving essential analgesia. I never had the time to offer any proper emotional support, or the care that some very sick or scared patients needed. A large chunk of my time was wasted on endlessly searching for scarce basic resources such as pillows. If anyone thinks the resourcing problems are new, they're wrong. I got fed up with statements from the management, at least once a year, along the lines of, "There's a funding crisis; we know we've told you that before, but this time it's much worse." After 10 years of that you lose hope. ... RCN general secretary may face "no confidence" vote <http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7352/1477/c> Rebecca Coombes, BMJ, June 22, 2002 Beverly Malone, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, may face a vote of "no confidence" by members after serious concerns about her behaviour. Kentucky born Dr Malone, who came to the United Kingdom last year on a work permit to take up the post, was also due to be questioned about internal affairs by the union's ruling council this week. Among the complaints against the nursing leader, a former aide to Bill Clinton, are that she pulled strings to enable her mother, a US citizen, to receive a quick cataract operation at an NHS hospital in London. Her decision to set up three £90000 ($133200; 141000) a year deputy positions at the college's London headquarters has also alienated Scottish and Welsh factions, who fear that Dr Malone plans to centralise rather than devolve power at the college. The suspension of four college officials - including her human resources director - has raised further questions about Dr Malone's leadership of the United Kingdom's biggest nursing union. Her appearance at a £500 a head Labour party fundraising event has also been controversial. The union has a tradition of political neutrality and is not affiliated to the Trades Union Congress. In addition, the news that Dr Malone received income totalling £200000, including £50000 in "relocation" fees, from the Royal College of Nursing last year has angered sections of the membership. ... United States Second Opinion: Less Care for Patients <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37309-2002Aug19.html> Washington Post, August 20, 2002 My friend's mother lies propped in a hospital bed. She looks amazingly beautiful with her head tilted back and held in place with a black metal "halo" -- amazingly, as I say, because about a week ago she fell down the stairs headfirst, broke her neck, her pelvis, her wrist. Her legs, shoulders and arms are black and blue. Still, she sustained no injuries to her head. She retains her smile and her wit. As the doctor told her, Providence was looking after her. With time and rehabilitation, she will recover. But the family has a more immediate concern: Will she be safe in the hospital? ... Gays in the military <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/240/editorials/Gays_in_the_military+.shtml> Boston Globe Editorial, August 28, 2002 Not wanting to jeopardize $328 million in federal funding, Harvard Law School has decided to end the official ban it imposed on military recruiters because of the services' discrimination against gay men and lesbians. With the US Defense Department now enforcing a six-year-old law against such recruitment bans more strictly than before, the law school's principled stand in favor of nondiscrimination threatened to cost all Harvard schools their largesse from Washington. The law school's decision is understandable but regrettable. The ban on military recruiters is one way to take issue with the military's wrongheaded ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy. Gays and lesbians are allowed to serve as long as they do not make their sexual orientation known (''don't tell''), and commanding officers are not supposed to inquire about anyone's orientation (''don't ask''). In theory, this compromise - adopted by former President Clinton - was supposed to allow homosexuals to go on serving their nation, as they always have, without obliging unit commanders to deal with service members who come out of the closet. Judging by the steadily increasing numbers of service members discharged each year for being uncloseted homosexuals, however, the policy is not working. The US military should follow the example of other nations in welcoming openly gay recruits, while enforcing the same rules on sexual activity and fraternization between ranks that pertain to heterosexuals. ... Job Loss Threatens Americans' Health Coverage <http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=571&ncid=571&e=15&u=/nm/2002 0829/hl_nm/coverage_workers_dc_1> Karen Pallarito, Reuters, August 29, 2002 NEW YORK - Rising levels of unemployment and escalating healthcare costs are exposing cracks in the US job-based health insurance system, a new Commonwealth Fund survey suggests. The findings could mean trouble ahead for American workers and the newly jobless, according to the New York City-based foundation. Working Americans are taking cuts in health benefits, mainly through greater cost sharing, according to the 2002 Workplace Health Insurance Survey, conducted this January. Fully 41% of Americans with employer-sponsored coverage reported paying more for their premiums or paying more out-of-pocket for that coverage in the past 12 months. ... California Desert Regional, nurses agree on contract terms 3-year deal includes 17% hike in pay <http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories/local/1029882707.shtml> Francesca Donlan, The Desert Sun, August 21, 2002 Registered nurses at Desert Regional Medical Center have reached a tentative three-year contract agreement. After four months of negotiations, the agreement includes improved patient care and a 17 percent pay increase for the three years of the contract and other economic gains, said Liz Jacobs, a registered nurse and spokesperson for the California Nurses Association. ... Tenet CEO receives lucrative boost to pension benefits <http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/business/story/4141706p-5164176c.html> Simon Avery, Associated Press, August 26, 2002 LOS ANGELES - While it closes hospitals and wrestles to contain costs, Tenet Healthcare Corp. has adopted a special provision that will roughly double the annual retirement payments to its chief executive officer. The Santa Barbara-based firm plans to credit Jeffrey Barbakow with 20 years of service in 2004 even though he will have worked only 11, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Barbakow has received plenty of praise for his leadership since taking the Tenet helm in 1993. He has overseen a major acquisition strategy and investors have driven up the company's share price sevenfold. ... Maine Maine Health Security Board Receives Grant for $200,000 <http://www.mainenurse.org> Maine State Nurses Association, July 18, 2002 Augusta, ME. The Maine Health Care System and Health Security Board, a bipartisan task force established by the Legislature, has received a grant of $200,000 from the Maine Health Access Foundation, Inc. to assess the feasibility and cost of implementing a universal coverage, single payer system in Maine. Such a system would provide health care coverage to every Maine resident. The grant funds will be used to contract with an expert firm for econometric modeling of the costs and economic impact of such a health care system in Maine. The Health Security Board had previously obtained $43,500 from public and private sources to support the project. However, the funding from the Maine Health Access Foundation will enable the project to be fully realized. ... Massachusetts Cooley Dickinson Hospital Nurses Ratify Two-Year Contract Contract Grants Pay Increases Ranging 12-16% Depending on Years of Service And Includes Language to Limit Mandatory Overtime Massachusetts Nurses Association, July 18, 2002 Northampton, Mass - After six months of negotiations with hospital management over their union contract, the registered nurses of Cooley Dickinson Hospital voted this week to ratify a new two-year contract that includes salary increases of between 12 and 16% depending on nurses' years of experience. The contract also includes increases in shift differentials for nurses who work evenings, nights and weekends, and places limits on the use of mandatory overtime, a practice employed by hospital management in the past to compensate for inadequate staffing at the facility. ... Essent making bid on another Bay State hospital <http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/20020817/HA_002.htm> Anita Perkins, Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, August 17, 2002 HAVERHILL -- Essent Healthcare, the company that bought debt-ridden Hale Hospital and renamed it Merrimack Valley Hospital, is making a bid to buy a fourth hospital. Essent Healthcare has been in "exclusive" negotiations with owners of the 41-bed Deaconess Nashoba Hospital in Ayer, about 35 miles from Haverhill off Interstate 495. The financially troubled CareGroup, Inc. -- the parent company of five hospitals including its flagship Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston -- has had four of its hospitals on the market to erase some losses. ... Hospitals struggle to recruit nurses <http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/nurses08192002.htm> Michelle Hillman, MetroWest Daily News, August 19, 2002 Richard Payne had never visited a hospital before but said after a recent two-week stay it was obvious to him there weren't enough nurses to care for patients - and the ones there were overworked. ... "They had rooms but didn't have the staff to cope and had to send patients away," said Payne. "They were very hard-pressed to find people to staff these rooms." ... Beacon Hill hopefuls divided on single-payer <http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/frame/getpage2.pl?cgi-bin/g/gstoryv2.pl+slug-G FORUM27> David Joyner, Gloucester Daily Times, August 27, 2002 Whether Massachusetts should create a single-payer health care system divides candidates hoping to represent Gloucester on Beacon Hill like no other health care issue. In the race for the local Senate seat, incumbent Republican Bruce Tarr is leery of a state-administered health insurance plan. Democrat Mark Caggiano is outright against it. The other Democrat in the race, Andrew Armata, has made creating a single-payer system a touchstone of his campaign. There's a similar divide in the race for the local House seat. Anthony Verga, the Democratic incumbent, has signed onto a bill calling for single-payer. ... Editor's Comment: Two of the promises made by legislative leaders in the State House in those heady hours of July 5-6, 2000, as Chapter 141 was being hobbled together to undercut Question 5, were a thorough study of how to achieve "consolidated health care financing and streamlined delivery" in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the final publication of that study early in 2002 so as to have maximum impact on state elections. Some members of the legislatively designated advisory committee and other activists have expressed frustration at the repeated delays preventing the report from impacting the September 17th party primaries, and at the apparent short shrift given to options other that incremental Medicaid expansion (at a time when 50,000 working poor have been dropped from Medicaid eligibility). The following memo reflects that frustration. The preliminary report of lead consultant LECG is due in the hands of the members of the advisory committee today, September 3, 2002. To: Co-Chairs and Members of the Advisory Committee on Consolidated Health Care Financing and LECG Consulting Staff From: MASS-CARE Massachusetts Nurses Association Massachusetts Senior Action Council League of Women Voters of Massachusetts Date: August 27, 2002 On June 19, 2002, consultants LECG submitted to the Advisory Committee three models which they identified as meeting the criteria of establishing a system of consolidated health care financing and streamlined health care delivery that would be accessible to every resident of Massachusetts. Between June 19, 2002 and the present time, only two working group meetings of the Advisory Committee have taken place. The majority of time at these two meetings was devoted to an in-depth analysis of only one of the three models, the expansion of Medicaid. This left little time to adequately discuss the single-payer model. At the end of the last meeting on July 18, 2002 single-payer supporters expressed their concern about this, but a decision was made not to hold any additional meetings.We believe, that before the preliminary eport is released by LECG, it is essential that the Advisory Committee convene at least one more working group meeting to be devoted to a similar in-depth analysis of the single-payer model, the only option that received overwhelming public support at every one of the hearings LECG held around the state. Druggists will push Medicaid retooling <http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/drug08272002.htm> Jennifer Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, August 27, 2002 Chain pharmacy leaders will call on lawmakers today to save Medicaid dollars by restructuring the program's benefits rather than cutting reimbursements. A planned rate cut was put on hold after the major chains said they would quit the program, threatening to leave nearly 1 million of the state's neediest citizens without access to most pharmacies. Acting Gov. Jane Swift agreed to stall the cut while regulators gathered information. The Legislature's Health Care Committee is holding an oversight hearing today to get information for a public hearing that the administration has scheduled for Sept. 5. ... Drug costs still ensnare health plans Rise of 14-19% seen despite control efforts <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/241/nation/Drug_costs_still_ensnare_health_ plans+.shtml> Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, August 29, 2002 Despite the most aggressive programs ever to control prescription drug costs - from requiring the health plan's permission before patients can use the latest arthritis drugs to limiting their allotment of heartburn pills - health insurance executives say they expect medication costs to rise 14 to 19 percent during 2002. Health plans in Massachusetts and across the country began implementing programs four years ago to control how often doctors' prescribe the most expensive medications - and charging patients extra fees when they require or insist on taking these pricey drugs. ... Don't ignore third-party candidates <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/241/letter/Don_t_ignore_third_party_candida tes+.shtml> Jill Stein & Mel King, Boston Globe, August 29, 2002 EARLIER THIS month the Globe ran a series of editorials outlining the important issues facing gubernatorial candidates. Though we appreciate the attention given to the issues of affordable housing, quality education, adequate human services, a clean environment, and decent health care, we are concerned by the decision to exclude the Green and Libertarian Party candidates from the series. The obligation of the press in a democratic society is to promote the free and unfettered exchange of ideas. By insulating your readers from what third party candidates have to say on important issues, you imply that their only choice in November is between the Republicans and the Democrats. By excluding the Green and Libertarian Parties from the exchange of ideas, you give readers the impression that their ideas add nothing to the dialogue. Shouldn't voters have a chance to decide for themselves? In her July 30 column, ''Governor's race lacks any broader vision,'' Joan Vennochi asked, ''What's the new role for government to play?'' The Libertarian candidate, Carla Howell, has her own response to that question. And as members of the Green Party/Rainbow Coalition Party partnership, we have ours. Jill Stein is the Green Party candidate for governor. Mel King is founder of the Rainbow Coalition Party. Tufts-NEMC leaving Lifespan Hospital executives say alliance did not meet financial expectations <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/241/business/Tufts_NEMC_leaving_Lifespan+.s html> Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, August 29, 2002 Tufts-New England Medical Center, one of hundreds of US teaching hospitals that merged during the 1990s to gain market power, will withdraw from the Rhode Island-based Lifespan hospital and physicians network. The health care industry, Tufts-NEMC executives said yesterday, turned out far differently than they predicted. The Boston medical center joined Lifespan in 1997, when executives believed New England health care would evolve rapidly from a local business into a regional one, with large multistate hospital networks controlling hundreds of thousands of patients, wielding considerable market clout, and negotiating better rates with health insurance companies. But that evolution never happened, said Tufts-NEMC chief executive Dr. Thomas O'Donnell Jr. ... Mass. finds more now live without health coverage <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/242/metro/Mass_finds_more_now_live_without_ health_coverage+.shtml> David Abel, Boston Globe, August 30, 2002 For the first time since the state began counting, the number of Massachusetts residents without health insurance is rising, according to data released by the Swift administration yesterday. About 32,000 state residents joined the ranks of the uninsured since the last survey in 2000, according to a preliminary report released yesterday by the state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy. The state estimates that 397,000 residents, or 6.4 percent of the population, are now without insurance. It's the first rise reported by state-sponsored surveys since 1995, when 683,000 residents lacked insurance. ... Blame legislators, not pharmacies <http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/243/letter/Blame_legislators_not_pharmacies +.shtml> Mary Downes, Boston Globe, August 31, 2002 REGARDING the on-going flap over the large drug chains' decision to favor the almighty dollar over the welfare of Medicaid customers: Who in this day and age can expect big business to ''do the right thing''? On the other hand, we voters have every right to expect our elected representatives on Beacon Hill to ''do the right thing.'' It is they, not the pharmacies, that have let us down with their morally decrepit budget wrangling that has left the poor, sick, homeless and helpless in shreds on the budget cutting floor. The wailing and gnashing of teeth from the State House is ridiculously disingenuous. And the real tragedy is our apparent unwillingness to hold the Legislature accountable for this mess. Mary Downes is Associate director for Public Policy, Episcopal City Mission, Boston Single-payer is an affordable plan Alan Sager & Deborah Socolar, Boston Globe, September 2, 2002 Rick Klein's report on health care in the race for governor ("The Issues: A health care safety net," City & Region, Aug. 25), claimed that analysts predict huge new costs for a single-payer plan in Massachusetts. Which analysts? What huge new costs? What evidence? Very different evidence arose from the two major studies of single-payer health care in Massachusetts: one by Lewin and Associates, and one which we co-authored with colleagues. A rise in state government costs under single payer is more than offset by drops in private insurance and out-of-pocket costs. After paying one-time transition costs (such as retraining paper-pushing clerks as life-saving nurses), total health spending falls. In the short term, single-payer pays for these reforms by cutting administrative waste and some clinical waste. While single-payer alone is no long-term cure-all, it is a valuable part of a health reform strategy, one that both liberates and obliges doctors to spend today's vast but inevitably scarce dollars more carefully. These are real foundations for medical security for all patients, financial security for all care-givers, and affordable total costs for all of us who pay the bills. 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