Steel Workers and Nurses!

The United Steelworkers union historically has done the heavy lifting in America. We helped build this country - and we continue to do so.

The Steelworkers union also historically has led the fight for social justice for working people and the middle class in this country - from fair wages to safe working conditions to strong pensions.

Today, it is the Steelworkers union out there hammering away for quality, affordable health care for all, after watching one employer after another raise the premiums that workers must pay so high that coverage no longer is affordable to the middle class in this country.

The USW and Michael Moore challenge Blue Cross executives to swap their pinstripes and Bruno Malis for coveralls and steel toes and spend a day in a USW steel or paper mill, a tire plant or copper mine and then blame the American people for our health care system. While they are at it, they can trade salaries too.

We are proud to host the hard hats vs the pinstripes debate featuring on one side, Michael Moore and USW International President Leo Gerard, a native of Canada, land of National Health Care, and on the other side, Capital Blue Cross CEO and whoever he might choose as a tag team partner.

We will do the event in Pittsburgh. If the CEO doesn't have the guts to show, we'll put up an empty chair. It will be a well-padded wingback, in keeping with what they are no doubt used to, and we will hold an old fashioned screening and town hall instead.

Leo W. Gerard, USW President

AND

From Day One, the registered nurses of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee have been proud to have worked with Michael on this fight.

We hosted the first premiere screening in the US. We sent a Nurse honor guard to the other premieres. We marched with Michael and the stars of the movie in Sacramento and DC. We appeared on Wall Street and called for socially responsible divestment from the health care companies. And last week we organized events with Nurses in 46 markets all across the country to coincide with the opening. To us, this is a movement for fundamental reform plain and simple with guaranteed healthcare for all – that ends the disgrace of insurance company denial of care.

No one knows the true state of America's health care system better than the Nurses. "SiCKO" brings to life the experience American’s RNs live every day. Our patients and our communities need real, systemic reform, not incremental change, not tinkering. The foundation is flawed - and we need to fix it at the most basic level.

When Michael shared with us the Capitol Blue Cross internal memo - we recognized the momentum "SiCKO" has helped ignite and the growing power of our movement. The insurance industry is afraid. The game is up for them.

It is time for all of us to write our own memo to these insurance companies - and the memo should have two words: YOU'RE FIRED.

We look forward to this debate – and we hope that Blue Cross will stand up to this challenge. They have a lot of explaining to do about their policies and practices that have inflicted so much pain and suffering on so many people. The American people deserve better, and soon we will have it.

Deborah Burger, RN
President, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee