Thousands of Nurses, Activists to March at G8 May 18, Call for Tax on Wall Street, Challenge Austerity Agendas

CHICAGO, Feb. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nurses from across the U.S., joined by healthcare, labor and other community activists, as well as activists from G-8 nations, will hold a large march and rally Friday, May 18 to greet the G-8 summit of world leaders in Chicago, National Nurses United announced today.

NNU, the largest U.S. union and professional association of nurses, is sponsoring the march, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. The marchers will travel along portions of Michigan Avenue, East Wacker Drive, and North State Street before ending at Daley Plaza for a noon rally.  

A centerpiece of the action will be a call on world leaders to adopt a financial transaction tax (FTT) on major trading by banks and other financial institutions to raise revenue critically needed for revitalizing the economic health of the U.S. and other G-8 nations. Marchers will also challenge austerity programs that they say have eroded health and living standards for global working people.

Over the past year, NNU has sponsored large actions, calling on Congress to tax Wall Street with a robust FTT on the trading of stocks, bonds, currencies, derivatives, and other financial instruments that the nurses say could raise $350 billion every year. The funds would then be available for essential needs, such as creating jobs, and investing in healthcare, education, and housing.

International labor, environmental, anti-poverty, and other non-governmental organizations have similarly mounted substantial pressure on global leaders to adopt FTTs – often called the Robin Hood tax, especially in Great Britain. Events are moving quickly this year toward a European version of the FTT, and the French president and cabinet have proposed adopting a national FTT within a few months.

 "Nurses have seen enough suffering from patients whose health has been broken by losing their jobs, their homes, and their health coverage," says NNU Co-president Karen Higgins, RN.  "It's time for action, starting with a tax on Wall Street speculation as a simple, but fair way to begin to raise the revenue needed to bring our nation and our economy back to health."  

SOURCE National Nurses United