Register to Vote in this Important Election

The election on Nov. 6 will not only decide who will be our country's president and state and federal legislators, but it also includes two state propositions critical to working families. Our Local 121RN Executive Board urges all Registered Nurses, your families and friends to vote YES on Prop. 30 and NO on Prop. 32.

Listen to our latest radio ad by clicking here.

Vote YES on Prop. 30

Years of budget cuts have threatened our jobs and wages, and have depleted vital services our communities count on, like schools and public safety. It’s time to ask those who continue to profit in this tough economy to pay their fair share.

Prop. 30 asks families making over $500,000 a year to pay a little more to get California back on track. Prop. 30 will prevent $6 billion in devastating cuts to our schools this year and provides billions in new funding for our schools starting this year – money schools need for smaller class sizes, up-to-date textbooks and rehiring teachers. What’s more, Prop. 30 is the only measure that will help keep cops on our streets by establishing a guarantee for public safety funding in our state’s constitution, where it can’t be touched without voter approval. All the taxes under Prop. 30 are temporary and the initiative can’t be modified without voter approval.

The Schools and Safety Protection Act will put California’s finances on a firm footing, end the cuts to education, and protect public safety. Prop. 30 is part of the Governor’s balanced approach to reducing the deficit while protecting essential services. This plan balances three dollars of cuts for every one dollar of additional revenue. Prop. 30 is critical step toward getting California back on track and investing in our common future.

Vote NO on Prop. 32

Prop. 32 threatens the jobs, wages and retirement of workers like us. It’s really an attack on workers disguised as being about “stopping special interests. We can’t fight for good jobs and legislation we need as nurses if we don’t have a voice. In California, nurses like us have fought for and won legislation on minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, safe needles, and protection from workplace violence.

Prop. 32 is a trick. It was designed to appear balanced but really creates special exemptions allowing corporate special interests and Super PACs to spend with NO LIMITS in politics, while eliminating the voice of workers. It’s unbalanced, unfair and does nothing to address the broken system in Sacramento. It simply gives corporate CEOs even more power to write their own rules at the expense of everyone else. We would lose our ability to fight for legislation that matters to RNs at the state and federal level.

Prop. 32 is the first of a “one-two” punch. The anti-union backers are trying to fool voters into passing this measure now so they can come back with measures later that strip away our priorities like job security, the ability to retire with dignity and even the right to have our union at all. Vote NO on Prop. 32.

Protect our communities and our Union: Vote YES on 30, NO on 32!

Articles on Props 30 and/or 32

Sacramento Bee Editorial, Oct. 19, 2012: Outside bucks seek to swing two ballot props ___________________________________________________________

Who's who of rich and powerful behind Proposition 32

By Steven Harmon, Bay Area News Group, mercurynews.com, 10/09/2012

SACRAMENTO -- The main premise of Proposition 32 is that it would stamp out the influence of special interest groups, equally condemning corporations and unions to irrelevancy at the Capitol while ushering in a new day for regular folks.

But a look at who is behind the initiative shows that it's hardly Joe Lunch Pail who has a rooting interest in the measure, dubbed "Stop Special Interest Money Now."

Instead, it's a virtual Who's Who roster of the rich and powerful, a lineup of bankers, investors, venture capitalists, executives and other wealthy individuals, many of whom have a history of funding conservative causes and have been active participants in the power game in Sacramento. And apparently, they want the game to themselves, critics say.  Continue reading this article

Related articles:

Reality Check: Pro-Proposition 32 ad filled with half-truths Reality Check: Anti-Proposition 32 radio ad is accurate; measure is deceptive

Mercury News editorial: Deceptive Prop. 32 would worsen campaign finance mess

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The LA Times' Michael Hiltzik calls Prop 32 "the fraud to end all frauds." This deceptive scheme pretends to be governmental reform, but really it is just the "Rich Persons and Corporations Empowerment Act of 2012." http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20120819,0,5536069,full.column __________________________________________________________________

The Hill, By John Logan, professor, San Francisco State University  http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/campaign/243509-californias-prop-32-would-be-citizens-united-on-steroids __________________________________________________________________

La Opinion editorial http://www.laopinion.com/article/20120930/IMPORT01/309309957 __________________________________________________________________

Endorsements by major California newspapers

By Around the Capitol, An inside look at California politics and policy