Registered nurses at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., who have been fighting for safe patient care and strong nursing standards for nearly a year, reached a tentative agreement last night on a new contract with the hospital. The nearly 1,700 nurses are members of National Nurses United (NNU).

In a letter to the New York Times today,  Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United (NNU), says the Republican plan put forward by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is “little more than a thinly veiled scheme to destroy one of the most fundamental reforms in American history through privatization and further cost-shifting to many of the most vulnerable in our society.”

In Planation, Fla., registered nurses at Florida Medical Center voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee-Florida, an affiliate of the National Nurses United (NNU).

While Republican lawmakers and right-wing talking heads try to demonize the union movement, physicians, nurses, flight instructors, technicians, bakers and more are the latest workers to choose a voice on the job with AFL-CIO unions.

Corporate taxes–or more succinctly corporate tax avoidance–has grabbed some big headlines recently starting with The New York Times report that GE, with worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, didn’t pay a dime of U.S. tax in 2010, but got $3.2 billion tax benefit. All legit and all because of corporate tax loopholes companies like GE have lobbied hard to put in place.

Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United (NNU), writes at the  Huffington Post about how the struggles in the Midwest and around the country have exposed the fact that there are two Americas: one where the rich get bailouts and bonuses and the rest of us get our benefits slashed and gutted.

Nurses at Washington Hospital Center, the largest hospital in the nation’s capital, have been locked out until March 9 following their one-day strike for better patient care last Friday.

Nurses at Washington Hospital Center walked out this morning for a one-day strike to protest management’s refusal to address their concerns about safe patient care, management’s attempt to erode nursing standards, and management’s unfair labor practices.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will keynote a strike rally of registered nurses in front of Washington Hospital Center on March 4. 

The strong stand for the middle class by workers in Wisconsin is drawing support and inspiring workers across the country. In Detroit, members of the striking Detroit Symphony Orchestra linked their protest last night at Mayor Dave Bing’s State of the City address to the struggles in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and other states.