Chicago nurses picketed City Hall on Oct. 25 after the the arrest
of 130 people at the 3,000-strong Occupy Chicago protest two days
earlier. Among the arrested occupiers were two nurses and a union
organizer. Nurses made up a sizable part of the Occupy Chicago
protest, and they had set up a large tent to provide first aid to the
demonstrators. The arrested nurses were held longer than the other
demonstrators, treated harshly and charged with misdemeanor
trespassing.
“Arrest the 1 percent!” rang out in front of the offices of
Chicago millionaire Mayor Rahm Emanual. National Nurses United
organized the demonstration, which was attended by many other Occupy
Chicago participants. They demanded that the charges against the
nurses, medics and all those arrested be dropped immediately.
NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro said that the arrests will
solidify the nurses’ commitment to the Occupy movement. “The nurses
are angry,” said DeMoro, and the arrests have “made us double our
resolve.” (Chicago Tribune, Oct. 24)
Nurses have set up medic tents for first aid to Occupy protesters
in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco with no arrests. But Mayor
Emanuel’s desire to strangle the Occupy Chicago movement in its
cradle has led to bald-faced intimidation tactics by the police and
hundreds of arrests on a weekly basis.
The courageous nurses in Chicago are fighting back, and all
workers must stand with them in this fight against the criminal
capitalist system of Wall Street domination. Victory is only possible
through struggle and unity. It is time to fight back!
