·         Happy Labor Day!  In 1904, the Michigan Nurses Association was founded with the goal of lobbying the state legislature to establish licensure for nurses. Their efforts paid off in 1909 with the passage of the first nursing practice act. Thirty-one years later, in 1940, $4.00 per day, plus two meals, was the most common salary paid to graduate nurses in Detroit. Since that time, our issues have become more demanding, and our political strength has increased to meet those demands.

 

·         Our need to organize continues: The Property Tax vote on January 29^th which could devastate our County's budget and hurt Jackson is only one of the threats we face. County and State budget cuts are also looming and might impact on our ability to win fair contracts. The Committee on Political Education (COPE) is our first line of defense. We need to encourage every member to contribute to the political work of our local union. Our dues money can’t be spent on politics and money is a critical part of today's political reality. Besides choosing a president, we will elect the majority of the county commission and state legislature in 2008. We will also work to defeat the Property Tax scam scheduled for January 2008 and possibly face another in November 2008. We need to strive for 100% participation in politics and 100% member contribution to our collective political and legislative effort. As a start, the local executive committee set the ambitious goal of growing participation to 1000 members contributing $5 a pay period by the end of 2007. We are asking current contributors to consider raising their contribution and asking those who are not yet participating to sign a COPE card. The next meeting of the COPE committee, which is organizing this effort, will be September 10^th at 12 noon in DTC 252, JMH main campus. Please sign a COPE card now to begin or increase you contribution and come to the meeting on September 10^th.

 

·         Property tax “reform” - a lot less than promised: The same legislature that promised us insurance reform now silently watches as rates rise and companies drop home owners. That legislature also has a Property Tax Initiative which it wants you to vote for in the January 29th special election. They call this one a “super-exemption”, hoping to win votes. However, every indication is that the overwhelming majority of the voters who own houses in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach will be much better off if they simply vote NO, keep the current exemption and the SAVE OUR HOMES protection which will eventually be phased out if the Tax Reform changes. The new so called super exemption will be based on the full property value and most homeowners in the three Southeastern counties have seen their homes rise rapidly in value after they bought their homes. Even new home owners would benefit more from SAVE OUR HOMES in the future if property values in the three counties continue to rise. To see whether you will benefit or suffer with the new proposal go to our Local's web page (www.seiu1991.org) and follow the steps to calculate how the proposal would affect your taxable value. However it impacts your tax burden, the proposed tax vote could force big cuts in county and city services, including Jackson. Our contract benefits and the quality care that we provide to our patients could also be at risk.

 

·         Presidential Politics: January 29th is also the date of the presidential primary. Several of the candidates have been through South Florida and the next Democratic candidates debate will be in Florida on Sept. 9. Most of the Democratic candidates have participated in SEIU's “Walk a Day in My Shoes” program, which is a requirement to receive the support of the union for their nomination. Hillary Clinton spent her day working with Michelle Estrada, RN, a med/surg nurse and member of SEIU Healthcare Local 1107 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Much of the day was spent talking about the need to address Staffing shortfalls. Click the picture for more details