My guest on this podcast episode is Kelley Tyler, a trauma nurse working in Asheville, North Carolina. On Sept. 17, Kelley and her fellow nurses at Mission Hospital won a tremendous victory for organized labor when they voted in a landslide to be represented by a union.
It was the largest union victory at a nonunion hospital in the American South since 1975, and it was the first ever private-sector hospital union win in North Carolina history.
I don't want to understate this: That union victory was a big damn deal.
If you want to read some more about the Asheville nurses' landmark victory, here’s a summary from The Intercept and an insightful interview with several of the nurses that was published by Jacobin shortly before the vote. I know there's a lot to despair about right now, but this is cause for rejoicing in my book.
Up the nurses. Up the workers. Solidarity forever, y'all.
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Right now I've got a big box of 3”x3” vinyl stickers on my desk with the podcast logo on them, and I'd love to mail you a couple. If you're a paying subscriber, you can just reply to this email with your mailing address and I'll send them your way ASAP. They were printed at a union print shop, Dr. Don's in Glendale, Arizona, and they are sure to be the envy of your coworkers and/or housemates.
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Photos courtesy of National Nurses United. Kelley is the one at the top speaking into a megaphone.
Episode 10: Power to the nurses