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08.17.05
California Nurses Travel to Boston to Protest
Schwarzenegger's
$100k Rolling Stones Fundraiser
Pre-Concert Press Conference Sunday to Kick Off Protest
Registered
Nurses from the California Nurses Association (CNA) and the
National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) will
travel
to Boston to protest Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's corporate
fundraising and policies harmful to nurses and other Californians
outside a $100,000 per ticket fundraiser he is holding at the
Rolling Stones kickoff concert at Fenway Park in Boston. They
will be joined
by RNs from the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), as well
as local teachers, firefighters, and activists at a pre-concert
press conference this Sunday, August 21st at 5:00 pm.
WHAT: RNs protest Schwarzenegger at Rolling Stones Concert
WHEN: Sunday, August 21, 5:00 PM Press Conference; 6 pm Concert
WHERE: Fenway Park, entrance to glass elevator
Schwarzenegger
has been dogged for the last nine months by protestors, led by
the CNA, at some 75 public appearances,
especially his fundraising
events held across the nation. The protests have galvanized public
opposition to his policies, which include attacks on nurses, teachers,
firefighters, and have contributed to a free fall in his approval
ratings from the mid-70s to the low-30s. Schwarzenegger at one
point boasted about “kicking (nurses’) butts” and
moved to roll back the state’s landmark law requiring safe
registered nurse staffing ratios to protect patient safety. The
MNA has recently proposed a similar law for Massachusetts.
As Governor, Schwarzenegger has smashed every record for corporate
fundraising, with him and his allies taking in $81 million in just
the first six months of 2005. Schwarzenegger is now raising funds
to support a costly special election that he has scheduled for
November, called despite the opposition of a majority of Californians.
The ballot includes a variety of pro-corporate proposals, including
measures to:
- End prescription drug pricing reform and guarantee
pharmaceutical corporations billions more in profits from low-income
consumers.
- Give Schwarzenegger much greater power to cut funding
for health
care, education, and other social programs.
- Slash job protections
for teachers
- Discourage RN and other public employee unions
from participating in politics while placing no limits on corporate
spending on
elections
“Nearly 70% of Californians have seen through the Hollywood
hype and now disapprove of Arnold Schwarzenegger, his cash register
politics, and his disgraceful attack on those who provide vital
public services in our state,” said Deborah Burger, RN, President
of the California Nurses Association. “The reason he is traveling
around the country raising money is that big corporate interests
hope to replicate his disastrous program in other states. The nurses
of California, joined by our colleagues across the nation will
be sure that our message is heard as well.”
You
can read more about the effort to defeat Schwarzenegger's
special election by visiting www.StopArnold.us, a project of the
California Nurses Association, or the CNA website at www.calnurses.org.
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