Nurses and all that Jazz

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/05/19/nurses-talks-break-519.html#socialcomments-submit

The nurses are going on strike. I'm not that surprised it would come to this. One thing I am surprised about the whole thing is the horrible, negative comments that people leave on the bottom of news stories such as this. I know some bored, nasty people just like to try and provoke other commentators, but do they not realize that a tired, hard-working nurse who just did an arduous 24-hour understaffed shift might get really upset after reading these horrendous words, saying he/she's lazy and ungrateful, and doesn't deserve to be paid a better wage for doing the work of four nurses?

These snotty people could at least consider the unfairness of Williams' offers and the impact on nurses who have been working for 10, 20, 30 years, receiving a lower pay than some graduate fresh out of the mainland. It's bad enough that these workers have to go on strike to receive benefits equal to the rest of the country, benefits which they are just as entitled to in this cold, isolated province. Why do we need to incite people to come here from other provinces when we have hundreds of graduating nurses in NL without permanent jobs or full-time work?

At least summer's coming and they won't have to bring their parkas and flaming garbage cans to keep warm against the snow that usually seems to plague striking workers in this province.

I was also disappointed when I read this today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/arts/music/20jazz.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=nytimes

New York City is going to be without its Jazz Festival for the first time in almost 40 years. I'm not very surprised this is because of a lack of financial support/funding.

“Losing a major jazz festival kind of tells the world that maybe this music isn’t marketable,” said Joel Chriss, a booking agent whose roster includes Randy Brecker and Freddy Cole. “It’s potentially dangerous.”

Jazz music in both the US and Canada deserves more support, which is part of why I'm going to the Ship this Thursday night to see the Justin Haynes show. I interviewed him last week for Current and it sounds like it's going to be a really interesting night: he plays ukulele with his friends Ryan Driver and Jean Martin, who play the street sweeper swiffer bass and a suitcase. They're touring in support of their experimental album Freedman. I'll post the interview soon as I get the chance, I'm trying to get to bed on this side of midnight tonight.

Losing our nurses will also be dangerous. We should show our support for them, rather than making catty, pointless remarks in the bowels of the internet. For the sake of hard-working nurses who didn't really want to have to strike for their rights (like my mother), I hope it's a short strike.