USA: Hundreds of red-clad nurses gather in Chicago for a protest ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in the city.
Record ID:
644004
USA: Hundreds of red-clad nurses gather in Chicago for a protest ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in the city.
- Title: USA: Hundreds of red-clad nurses gather in Chicago for a protest ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in the city.
- Date: 19th May 2012
- Summary: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES (MAY 18, 2012) (REUTERS) TOP SHOT OF NURSES MARCHING THROUGH DOWNTOWN CHICAGO VARIOUS OF NURSES CHANTING AND MARCHING POLICE OFFICERS ON BIKES NURSES AND OTHER PROTESTERS GATHERED AT RALLY ANARCHIST SIGN VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS AT RALLY (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAREN HIGGINS, CO-PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL NURSES UNITED, SAYING: "Well we came because we had planned this around the G8 meeting. Obviously, they went somewhere else, but our feeling was we're here, we're not going away, we're going to talk to them. So that's why we're here." (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAY MCVAY, RETIRED NURSE, SAYING: "I'm hoping that we're going to be able to reach enough people that they'll understand, you know, we do have to come together. I don't care what the color of skin or what language they talk, when you cut, you bleed blood. Not gold, blood." VARIOUS OF WORKERS PUTTING UP FENCES AROUND CONVENTION CENTER, WHERE NATO MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE CONVENTION CENTER
- Embargoed: 3rd June 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Health,Employment
- Reuters ID: LVAA0DX2ITNRJYXSMEY5L1ANP5LV
- Story Text: This weekend's NATO summit is attracting raucous rallies and protests to Chicago that have little to do with the mission of the military alliance, including a large rally of nurses angry about the resources devoted to healthcare in the United States.
Hundreds of red-clad nurses from National Nurses United marched to a downtown Chicago plaza on Friday (May 18) for the largest protest to date surrounding the summit, which heads of state including U.S. President Barack Obama will attend.
The protest rally was ringed by metal barricades and lines of police. Authorities closed some streets and warned of traffic tie-ups as dignitaries begin arriving for the summit.
The nurses group, which is holding a convention at a nearby hotel, paid for a dozen buses carrying hundreds more protesters from around the country that began arriving on Thursday.
The nurses have called for what they term a "Robin Hood" tax on financial institutions' transactions to offset government funding cuts that have affected health care, education and social services. Many sported green hats and masks.
The protest coincides with Friday's start of the Group of Eight (G8) economic summit, which was moved to Camp David, Maryland, from Chicago.
"Well we came because we had planned this around the G8 meeting. Obviously, they went somewhere else, but our feeling was we're here, we're not going away, we're going to talk to them. So that's why we're here," said Karen Higgins, president of the National Nurses Union.
Retired nurse Kay McVay said she hoped the protest would bring people together.
"I'm hoping that we're going to be able to reach enough people that they'll understand, you know, we do have to come together. I don't care what the color of skin or what language they talk, when you cut, you bleed blood. Not gold, blood," she said.
The largest planned protest was expected on Sunday when the two-day NATO summit begins. It was scheduled to form in a lakefront park and conclude with a march and rally outside the security zone around the lakefront convention center where 7,500 delegates are to meet. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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