I am so chagrined at how oblivious and naive I am.  I have been here at MYDD for many months, after I left the Big Orange Site.  I have really enjoyed myself here, but now I am really pissed off.  I just noticed the tag ad at the end of every diary, including my one and only attempt at a diary of my own.  I am talking about the 'SHAMEONCNA.COM' ad.  

I had no idea what that was about, talk about a subliminal message.  Does anyone else know what I am talking about?  I finally noticed the subtitle 'unfair to nurses'.  I am a nurse, you would think I would have noticed this sooner.  There is nothing nearer and dearer to my heart than what is going on in health care.  

I just clicked on the ad to find out what it was about and what I found was a site that is dedicated to bashing the California Nurses Association and the National Nurses Organizing committee.  This site is primarily an SEIU site claiming things like this:

The California Nurses Association fought to stop me and my co-workers from getting better pay and more job security. We spent 3 years working to organize our workplace and make CHP hospitals a better place for workers and patients.

But CNA/NNOC came in at the last minute and flooded our state with lies to stop our democratic election. CNA/NNOC spent lots of money to try to turn nurses against other healthcare workers and stop us from having a say in our future.  

Thanks to CNA/NNOC's union-busting, people like me still don't have a union standing up for our rights."

Boy this CNA sounds really bad doesn't it?  Unfortunately, that's not an accurate picture.  SEIU is making back room deals with companies/corporations such as nursing homes and hospitals to bring in their union.  Well what's wrong with that?  It takes out the workers right to unionize and have the employer choose the union for them.  It makes you wonder what SEIU has offered in return for this priveledge to unionize against the workers wishes.  (By the way, I am an avid union supporter, and I am not objecting to unions.  I am objecting to SEIU directly.)  Anyway, from what I have been reading about SEIU, they are helping to lobby for tort reform to prevent patients and their families from suing when a nursing home has neglected or abused their family member.  I have also read that SEIU has gone against nurse's wishes to get rid of 'whistle blower' protections.  In essence, the union will actually be representing the Health Care facility, and not the best interests of the nurses.  Any time someone goes against a nurse, I have to ask why.  What's in it for them.  When nurse's lobbly for lower patient ratios, it is for the safety of the patient and the nurse.  When a facility, a union, or a governor (Arnie) comes out against the nurse, I always agree with the nurse.  Nurses have the patients best wishes always in the forefront of their minds.  Anyway, here is some information from the CNA site:

This was achieved through a pact between nursing home chains and the two-million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation's largest union, which represents nurses, orderlies, and other healthcare employees. Under the pact, the union would use its clout with California Democrats to push nursing-home-industry goals such as tort reform, which would limit patients and their families' right to sue in cases of wrongful death or injury; in exchange, the chains selected facilities where the SEIU could absorb workers into union ranks. This was part of national SEIU leader Andy Stern's strategy of collaboration rather than confrontation, and included deals in Washington state, Missouri, and California designed to rapidly add to union ranks on terms attractive to employers.

This shows me that SEIU is not interested in the best interests of nurses or their patients; thier only interest is swelling their ranks, so that their power can grow.

That brings me to why I am so pissed off today.  I am not a prolific writer, and only attempted one other diary.  I am not even sure if this diary will generate any interest, since most people here are only interested in the candidate diaries.  But, I really had to express my outrage that this site is set up so that the 'shame on cna.com' ad is attached to every diary.  Are there any other nurses out there?  Do you know what I am talking about?  This site is going against the California Nurse's Association and they are making us just as complicit by attaching that ad to every diary.  That's not fair.  I don't support SEIU in this.  I think that you could at least give us a choice.  Anyway as I said, I am not a big writer, so if I don't write here any more, it won't be any big loss to MYDD.  However, I if I don't get a good explanation or any support for this point of view, I probably will lose interest in MYDD and won't continue coming here.  OK, so have at it.  I sure no one would miss me, and this probably won't be answered by any of the Admin's.  Actually, as soon as I post this, I will send them a note and see if they care.  that's it for now.  I hope I at least hear from some nurses.

Sorry, one more thing, I forgot to add an example of the Strong Arm tactics that SEIU is using against the CNA/NNOC. This is taken directly from the CNA website at (http://www.calnurses.org/media-center/press-releases/2008/april/rns-condemn-violent-service-union-attack-at-michigan-event-hundreds-of-seiu-staff-bused-in-to-smash-into-meeting-to-attack-rns-and-break-up-conference-on-union-democracy.html)

For Immediate Release April 12, 2008 Print Text Only Tell-a-Friend RNs Condemn Violent Service Union Attack at Michigan Event - Hundreds of SEIU Staff Bused in to Smash Into Meeting to Attack RNs and Break Up Conference on Union Democracy The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee tonight condemned a brutal assault by busloads of purple cloaked staff of the Service Employees International Union who smashed into a conference of union members Saturday night in Dearborn, Mi. and physically assaulted women and union members who stood in their path. "I am deeply concerned about this heightened attack on women and nurses, directed by SEIU President Andrew Stern," said CNA/NNOC Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro, who was scheduled to speak about the campaign for genuine healthcare reform at the banquet. DeMoro cancelled her appearance at the event to coordinate support for CNA/NNOC leaders in California after Stern and SEIU began sending roving bands of staff to the homes of CNA/NNOC RN board members in California Thursday and Friday, stalking and harassing them. "There is an ugly pattern here of physical abuse and tactics of intimidation that have no place in either our labor movement or a civilized society," DeMoro said.

I could post more examples, but I urge all of you to look at both site and form your own judgements.