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Time to Celebrate One Victory and
Take an Important Step in the Campaign
  to Secure Jackson's Financial Stability

The decision by Dade County Circuit Judge Genden that the proposed strong mayor referendum is unconstitutional was a real victory for democracy and fair representation.  The “strong-arm” mayor proposal would put all power into one person’s hands, remove the requirement of government in the sunshine in favor of secret decisions behind closed doors, and shift power from local communities to the big business interests downtown.

Our Local can be proud of the role we played in this important court victory.  We contributed the funds which allowed the united labor movement to hire two top attorneys, to join in litigation challenging the legality of the Mayor's power grab.  The 500 members who contribute to our Committee for Political Education (COPE) fund each month made this victory possible.  Their contributions made it possible for our local to fund the effort by the South Florida AFL-CIO which included the court battle.

The mayor has announced that he intends to press ahead with an appeal of the judge’s well reasoned opinion.  We will also continue our fight to defend democracy and good government, meeting the mayor in court, and educating our members about the issue so that we are ready to defeat the measure if it ever comes to a vote.  Meantime we want to continue working with the Commission to help them demonstrate how much more effective democratic government can be in meeting the health care needs of our community.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, AT 2:00 PM WE NEED MEMBERS TO ATTEND AN IMPORTANT COMMISSION MEETING.
 

• Meet in front of the Alamo to take the Metro with other JMH workers at 1:15 pm – 1:30 pm, or,
• Meet in front of the Alamo after shift change at 3:30 pm – 3:45 pm to take metro for the latter portion of the Commission mtg., or,
• Meet in the lobby of the County Building, inside the security stations at 1:30 pm – parking lots available on NW 3^rd Street & on NW 2^nd Ave. between NW 1^st St. & Flagler St., or,
• Come on your own and join the members in the Commission chamber any time during the meeting.
• Be sure to wear scrubs.

We should not be deterred by management's demoralizing approach at the bargaining table, from acting in the interest of our great public hospital and the patients who depend on it. On Wednesday we will underscore our determination to work in partnership with the County commissioners to find immediate and long term solutions to the crisis confronting JMH and health care everywhere. Martha Baker, RN, President of Local 1991, will make a short presentation to the Commission at 2:00 pm, informing them of the status of patient care at JMH and the role we hope the Commission can play to preserve the levels of patient care that are important to the community and to our members.  Later in the same meeting, we will support the creation of a Commission Health Care Task-force, whose purpose will be to find solutions that will reduce the number of uninsured citizens in our county.  Issues will also be discussed concerning the building of a new Jackson South patient tower.

Strengthening a Partnership with the Commission that Works for the Community

Rather than accept our proposals to work with us to turn around Jackson’s financial situation, management has obsessively demanded total power as if our public hospital were its private domain. It has shown an alarming tendency to let penny wise, pound foolish considerations, rather than patient needs, govern decisions.  Management seems wedded to a short-sighted effort to balance the budget on the backs of the very health care workers who provide the hands on care to patients.  Management’s proposals attempt to silence the patients’ advocates by gutting due process and undermining union representation, at the same time management fails to respond to our efforts to negotiate improved care.  Each session we have encouraged management to address the real problems before us.

Our partnership with the democratically elected Commissioners is a different story.  We have achieved much over the years working with them. More than once the Commission has intervened to save JMH and prevent myopic management errors from irreparably harming the hospital.  It is time to turn to them once again.

JOIN US ON AUG. 17 TO HELP JMH,
OUR CONTRACT & OUR PATIENTS!