California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has indicated she is not afraid to roll up her sleeves and take on Big Labor, particularly the huge and politically active California Nurses Union. The CNA-NNOC took the initiative during the primary campaign when they launched a “Queen Meg” actress dressed as Whitman to hound her on the campaign and fund-raising trail. Whitman recently sent nurses in the state a four-page letter inviting nurses to join an advisory panel. She is positioning herself as pro-nurse, but is against unions, which she says symbolizes California’s undisciplined spending, political gridlock and inefficient, outdated operations. The nurses union has already spent upwards of $300,000 opposing Whitman, and will spend heavily as the election approaches. They continue to fight back at Whitman, most recently by sending protesters to her house. “I think it’s important for us to be able to communicate to our patients and the community just what California’s in for if they get a corporate CEO in charge of California,” said CNA co-president Deborah Burger. Easy to understand that a union would prefer a career politician or other celebrity who doesn’t understand running a profitable organization, than a business- person who understands budgets and profit and loss statements! It is refreshing to see someone in the political sphere not afraid to go toe-to-toe with Big Labor, and one can only hope to see more of it.
