I am a Registered Nurse on the negotiating team for my union.

We are in a very difficult contract dispute with the hospital which is trying to break the union – and seems to be succeeding. We had a vote this week asking nurses to authorize the bargaining team to set a strike date if there is no movement at the bargaining table.

I spent hours and hours talking to my coworkers all this week and last week and on the day of the vote my husband printed up your article and gave it to me to read. It was quite inspirational and stopped me from getting too discouraged. I remained positive as I talked to many nurses who came to the vote still undecided.

We did get 66% of the RNs to allow us to set the strike date but it was very difficult process (we would have preferred a higher number, of course). I have experienced quite a few cold shoulders and nasty comments since from my colleagues who don’t agree and don’t even think we need a union at all.

It’s scary to think that nurses are so complacent. They don’t seem to realize that their salaries and benefits are higher because of the union. We could lose the union if they don’t wake up – the union busting is very subtle and the hospital has lots of money to conduct their campaign

Keep up the writing. Thank you

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. I think this is correct. And I believe a great change will come in the years ahead, because the world is going into crisis. A new society will be born. I know it. A great change will come.

A lot of people, I think, will feel extremely hopeless in the coming years. They will think “it’s the end of the world”. But it’s merely the end of one world and the beginning of another. That is the one thing people should know about these times, that there is hope, and that the future looks real bright.