CHICAGO, September 16 — “You PLers!”  The nurses’ union organizer nearly shouted. “What is this s***? All you do is attack our union!”
The doctor and the half dozen nurses witnessing this sudden outburst while waiting for the Board meeting to begin were taken aback. The doctor responded, “I read that leaflet. It also criticizes my union, the Doctors’ Council, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), for not doing much to fight the administration’s attack. And I agree with what it says. Neither union has done much, really.”
“Well quit trying to organize my nurses.” She turned to the nurse who was writing down her phone number for the doctor. “This is what those people are about!” the union hack went on, jabbing her finger into the “Fight for Communism” logo part of the PL leaflet.
“I don’t see why you are getting so mad at him,”  the nurse replied calmly.  “He takes care of patients just like I do and just wants to keep the administration from closing his unit. We’re fighting for the same thing.”  The doctor was pleasantly surprised when the nurse finished writing down her phone number for him.
The PL leaflet that angered the union organizer exposed the hospital administration’s plan — together with the politicians and bankers — to privatize Stroger Cook County Hospital and bust all the unions. The doctors and nurses from the newborn unit would be the last ones to disagree with PL’s analysis, since their unit has been under the most attack. As the only unit in this public hospital with 100 percent insured patients (thanks to Kid Care Medicaid payments,) it’s the only unit that actually brings in money for the public hospital system.
Profiting Off Sick Babies
So the bosses of the private hospital across the street, Rush Presbyterian, have their eye on those well-insured sick babies. When Rush built their new hospital, they doubled the size of their newborn unit, apparently planning on taking those public patients (as long as they are insured).
It is unclear why the public system’s administration wants to put their newborn unit out of businesss to lift the profits of the rich hospital across the street. Some think the County bosses are just trying to speed up the financial collapse of the public system so it can be privatized. One politician even said she wanted to “get the County out of the healthcare business.” This makes sense from her capitalist perspective — hospital costs keep rising and federal dollars keep declining. Others speculate that Rush has made a pledge to the campaign fund of County Board president, Toni Preckwinkle, so she will pay them off with $20 million a year’s worth of Medicaid neonatal intensive care unit patients.
Whatever the bosses’ motivation, it amounts to a racist attack on low-income black and immigrant working-class patients and another union-busting scheme to lower the living standards of healthcare workers.
PL’s analysis resonated with hospital workers. One department chair was bemoaning the fact that his resident doctors were all calling up to ask if Stroger hospital was really going to privatize. They demanded to know what would happen to their training program. Apparently somebody liked the leaflet enough to make copies and stuff them in all the medicine residents’ mailboxes. A lab worker saw to it that all the clinics and exam rooms got a copy.
At the Board meeting Dr. Ram Raju, the CEO who is always smiling and slapping people on the back in a jovial mood before meetings, looked like he had severe indigestion that morning after the leaflet came out. With a growing number of doctors and nurses questioning the motives of the administration, the CEO has ample reason for discomfort.
Under capitalism, decisions on healthcare and all other aspects of society are made based on what will make the most profit for the bosses, regardless of how many may die. And the union misleaders, by defending capitalism, take the bosses’ side. Under communism, healthcare will be a right for all. All decisions will be made based on our class’ needs.  So how will our Party turn this increasing mass distrust of the administration and politicians into trust in communist leadership and action? Stay tuned. The struggle continues.