Local 40’s annual school supply and
backpack drive was a big success again
this year, collecting more than 200
backpacks fully stocked for the children
in its community of Mt. Clemens,
Michigan. But the even bigger news is
that Local 40 soon will have established
an official charitable foundation, the
OPEIU Local 40 Nurses Charity Fund.
Local 459’s nurses are similarly doing good works in their community of Lansing, Michigan, recently conducting their own annual Stuff a Backpack project to help abused, neglected and at-risk children in the foster care system.
The OPEIU Nurses Council (ONC) has made safe staffing levels a top priority and joined hundreds of nurses in a rally in Washington, D.C.,
calling for the passage of legislation that would make staffing ratios the law of the land.
Nurses from Locals 40 and 459 in Michigan traveled to Washington to press for passage of S.864, National Nursing Shortage Reform and
Patient Advocacy Act, and H.R. 1602, Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2015, both aimed at improving
patient safety by implementing staffing ratios and addressing the nurse shortage.
The Local 459 Nurses Council held their annual "Stuff a Backpack" drive. They collected school supplies and backpacks for children in the Foster care system. These children often arrive with just the clothes on their backs. Without these donations they may carry supplies to school in a garbage bag which only makes them feel even more isolated and alone. The role of nurses goes far beyond the walls of a hospital or office. They have a natural desire to help their community in ways that most people never see. Nurses involved in the labor movement are especially inclined to reach out to other disenfranchised groups to help. They know it feels great to stand together in solidarity and make a difference in people's lives.