On June 6th and 7th, National Nurses United, Progressive Democrats of America, and other activists converged on Washington, D.C. to call on our elected officials to "Heal America – Tax Wall Street". The activists are proposing a fair-share tax plan on Wall Street, not on "Main Street". The nurses were there to speak out for better care of their patients, and they feel that currently, “People are suffering, because there are not enough nurses at the bedside,” said Pamela Young, 54, who traveled from Oviedo, Fla., for the event. Many nurses at the rally said they were concerned that staffing reductions in hospitals and doctors’ offices due to budget cuts could be dangerous to patients. National Nurses United has over 160,000 members.
The event lasted 2 days, and started with a Rally at Marrott Wardman Park, then on Tuesday they rallied in Lafayette Park and called on the White House to protect nurses jobs, and to protect patients. They marched past the US Chamber of Commerce, chanting "Hey Chamber you can't hide! We can see your greedy side!". The activists are upset with the US Chamber using their enormous influence to prevent corporate tax rate hikes, and feel that corporations should pay their fair share of taxes to rebuild America.
As the protesters walk by the front door of the US Chamber of Commerce, they handed in “invoices” of demands like “pension contribution increases” and “Mortgage payments” to 2 activists on the steps, one wearing a sash labeled "Goldman" and the other tuxedo-wearing billionaire playing "Sachs". Watch the video below. They then marched to the US Capital, for motivational speeches by Barbara Boxer and Bernie Sanders. Then they visited their Senators and Representatives to express their concerns personally. Many in the crowd were from the Progressive Democrats of America, and were calling for a single-payer healthcare system for patients.
For more information, check out:
http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/
http://www.pdamerica.org/
