a final few words A cure for division A national UNON

[Guest guest]

Twyla: This is a kettle of fish you may not want to cook. Many times

when I was a professor I thought we should be talking to a union. The

schools that had them, and there were few, were frought with problems.

I do believe we need political eyes and action on our profession and I

would gladly pay dues to an association to do that. I don't think the

union is the answer. For one thing many of us work for ourselves - who

are we going to demand wages and benefits from - ourselves? That would

come into play more if we all worked for large medical groups, e.g.

hospitals. Even then I would go into something like that cautiously.

 

As for the earlier controversies on the profession. I do believe we

need more professional standards for admission to our schools. I just

couldn't engage in that discussion with the way it was delivered. We

have a lawyer at the Maryland Acupuncture Society who gets things done

in a very professional manner.

 

I think it is quite different being an acupuncture student than it is a

graduate that has been out for a few years. I do think there is a

certain right of passage before you can start critquing the profession.

When we started school we were told to leave our egos (and previous

letters) at the door. If we didn't like it, we could go out the door

with our ego. This student would never have graduated from my school.

Admission should have been tougher, but graduation required a certain

humility. You could question the school, but again if it served the

community. We were in it for the patient - clear and simple - not our egos.

 

Anne

 

 

Hoodah wrote:

 

> You have my vote! Excellent idea!..this has been proposed before, but

> never acted on in any systematic or strategic way. I heard this way

> back when I first began TCM school. However, the other reality is

> " union " in the USA is a four letter word for most health

> professionals...or most workers, period.I It seems you are in Fl,

> which was the first so-called " right-to-work " state in the US and

> where even organizing sanitation workers is tough. (Union organizers

> in Tampa were publicly tarred and feathered and beaten by goons in

> Tampa...)

>

> I have also found many AP's to be very apolitical and apathetic when

> it comes to organizing as a body in our own interests at the national

> level...so this would take quite a bit of resources and

> reserves....but worth the challenge. How do we get started?

> Twyla

>

> Musiclear wrote:

> My wife is in a profession that was attacked with legislation

> for years.

> Then a bill was proposed that would have eliminated her participation

> in her

> career completely.

>

> A wise person proposed they join the AFL-CIO. With a minor amount of

> money as dues, they did.

>

> The AFL-CIO went to Tallahassee lobbied for their rights, stopped the

> legislation and got them additional rights. It was the best thing

> they could

> have done. Since then, all legislative challenges have stopped.

>

> I have appreciated the efforts of all the individual Acupuncture

> organizations around the US. However, I believe we really need a

> national

> organization that has much more clout to interact with law makers on

> our behave.

>

> I have talked to the AFL-CIO about the Acupuncture profession and

> asked

> if they would be interested in representing us in Washington. They

> would be

> very excited to join with us and protect our rights and promote our

> desires.

> Imagine having a very large organization promoting our rights.

>

> I know from personal experience how division in a profession opens

> the

> possibility of legislative demise and how unity can restore safety and

> improve

> opportunities.

>

> I feel strongly about the importance of the US Acupuncturists joining

> together and I believe joining a national union like the AFL-CIO is

> the best

> opportunity we have.

>

> What do you think?

>

> Chris

>

>

>

>

> In a message dated 1/22/2006 6:44:58 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> alonmarcus writes:

> Zev

> A fair warning

>

>

>

>

> Oakland, CA 94609

>

>

> -

>

> Chinese Medicine

> Sunday, January 22, 2006 3:37 PM

> Re: Re: a final few words

>

>

> This is a major problem for us. Such divisions led to the demise of

> homeopathy as an independent profession in the U.S. 100 years ago.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Musiclear wrote:

> My wife is in a profession that was attacked with legislation for years.

> Then a bill was proposed that would have eliminated her participation in her

> career completely.

 

Hi Chris!

 

What profession? AFL-CIO is a *trade* union, we are a profession. That

said, we are being treated as the basest possible tradespersons so,

maybe . . .

 

http://www.georgemeany.org/archives/home.html

 

Regards,

 

Pete

>

> A wise person proposed they join the AFL-CIO. With a minor amount of

> money as dues, they did.

>

> The AFL-CIO went to Tallahassee lobbied for their rights, stopped the

> legislation and got them additional rights. It was the best thing they could

> have done. Since then, all legislative challenges have stopped.

>

> I have appreciated the efforts of all the individual Acupuncture

> organizations around the US. However, I believe we really need a national

> organization that has much more clout to interact with law makers on our

behave.

>

> I have talked to the AFL-CIO about the Acupuncture profession and asked

> if they would be interested in representing us in Washington. They would be

> very excited to join with us and protect our rights and promote our desires.

> Imagine having a very large organization promoting our rights.

>

> I know from personal experience how division in a profession opens the

> possibility of legislative demise and how unity can restore safety and improve

> opportunities.

>

> I feel strongly about the importance of the US Acupuncturists joining

> together and I believe joining a national union like the AFL-CIO is the best

> opportunity we have.

>

> What do you think?

>

> Chris

>

>

>

>

> In a message dated 1/22/2006 6:44:58 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> alonmarcus writes:

> Zev

> A fair warning

>

>

>

>

> Oakland, CA 94609

>

>

> -

>

> Chinese Medicine

> Sunday, January 22, 2006 3:37 PM

> Re: Re: a final few words

>

>

> This is a major problem for us. Such divisions led to the demise of

> homeopathy as an independent profession in the U.S. 100 years ago.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Musiclear wrote:

> My wife is in a profession that was attacked with legislation for years.

> Then a bill was proposed that would have eliminated her participation in her

> career completely.

>

> A wise person proposed they join the AFL-CIO. With a minor amount of

> money as dues, they did.

 

Hi Chris!

 

How much of a minor amount of money as dues are we talking about?

 

Regards,

 

Pete