Hello,
Yesterday morning, we woke up at 3 a.m. to drive up to Houlton, ME, to support the striking nurses at Houlton Regional Hospital.
Workers walking a picket line is what organizing looks like. It’s the kind of organizing we are engaging in on our campaign to defeat Susan Collins. And it’s how working-class people can build power once again against the oligarchs and fascists who have taken over our government.
That’s why I made the long drive and went up yesterday to support the hard-working nurses who are fighting for what they need. Because it is critical to our mission and our movement.
What’s especially remarkable is that this strike isn’t about money. As one of the nurses told me: If this was about money, she would have found a new profession long ago.
These nurses are fighting for their patients. Management is refusing to include ratios in their contract, which protect patients by ensuring that medical staff are not overworked or spread too thin. These brave women and men are fighting to provide safe care to the people who come through their doors. Because you can’t do your job if you’re overwhelmed and you’ve got more patients than you can handle in an effective and safe way.
For these nurses, this is deeply personal too. In a rural community like Houlton, these patients aren’t strangers. They are people they know. They’re their neighbors, their friends, their family.
This is how we build power once again for the people.
Solidarity forever,
Graham Platner