5.17.2012

National Nurses United to Lead Huge Rally in Chicago Tomorrow in Support of a Robin Hood Tax


On Friday, May 18, NNU members will gather in Chicago to call for the tax, they will be joined by nursing representatives from the UK, Italy, Canada, Guatemala, Germany, and South Korea. The rally  will be led by National Nurses United, the nation's largest union of nurses with over 170,000 members, and is endorsed by more than 100 organizations of labor, environmentalists and consumer advocates.

The centerpiece of the rally is a call for a Robin Hood tax, a small levy of 50 cents or less on $100 of trades of stocks, bonds, derivatives and other financial instruments that could raise up to $350 billion every year in revenue. The money generated by a Robin Hood Tax could be used for social programs and job creation - ultimately to help people who, without a doubt, need it more than the banks do. Though the power and influence of Big Banking is intimidating the National Nurses Union has an inspiring history of defeating some of the toughest opponents in government and politics.

The National Nurses Union stands, time and again, for the health of their patients. They realize, as once upon a time all unions did, that the health their clients, their patients, can not be divided from the health of the community they are a part of. To this end the NNU supports many causes whose diverse goals center on the broadest possible well being for us all.

Once upon a time all unions understood that their members well being could only advance in step with the progress of the well being of all workers, in today's parlance-the 99%. Unlike the vast majority of modern unions who have devolved into special interest groups who, like corporations, solely focus is on the well being of their shareholders, their membership, and have lost sight of the fact that we are all stakeholders in this one world, the NNU still stands for the real values of the union movement. Good on 'em!