CNA/NNOC, like most RNs, is committed heart and soul to ending the healthcare crisis with the kind of "Medicare for All," or single-payer systems working in nearly every other industrialized democracy.  This means we have had to battle not just Republicans, but also Andy Stern's SEIU both at the national level and in state after state.  Stern has explicitly rejected single-payer an unfeasible, and worked to extend the customers and profits of private insurance corporations.  

In California, CNA/NNOC led the campaign to defeat a Schwarzenegger-SEIU healthcare bill that would have given billions in new public subsidies to the insurance corporations.  The bill was supported by 9 of the state's 10 largest insurance corporations along with SEIU--but opposed by most of labor and the state's healthcare/consumer reformers.

In New York, a single-payer bill has been already passed the Assembly, but has been blocked by Republicans who control the state Senate.  SEIU's strategy here seems to be to sell out wide-reaching healthcare reform in return for some raising more money for their corporate partners in the hospital and healthcare industry, so it can trickle down to patients and workers.

For a little more background on Bruno and the Senate Republicans, you can check out this Village Voice piece.  This comment from SEIU on Bruno is instructive: "Senator Bruno's commitment to protecting quality care for all New Yorkers has made him a tremendous ally to the entire healthcare community. The Senate majority's advocacy on behalf of caregivers has been second to none. We have the deepest respect for Senator Bruno's leadership and we will continue to work with him to ensure that New York State maintains world class healthcare for all."  Note the words...Bruno protects New York's world class healthcare for all; in other words, there's no healthcare crisis, so it's okay to keep Republicans in power.

SEIU's support of the Senate Republicans is happening just as they begin an unprecedented 30-hospital raid of the venerable New York State Nurses' Association, which was actually the nation's first professional RN, and has a strong track record of supporting RN patient advocacy.  For those keeping track, that means that Andy Stern's SEIU is currently engaged in large-scale efforts to bust three major unions--with hundreds of organizers in California attempting to take over CNA/NNOC as well as dissident SEIU local United Healthcare Workers-West, along with the coordinated NYSNA raids.

Brought to you by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee--America's RN Union.