Our common welfare should come first; personal progress for the greatest number depends upon unity. (Tradition 1)

Last night I went to a Michael Buble concert with my wife. She loved it. Don't get me wrong, he's a great singer and he put on a terrific show but let's be honest, the majority of the men in the audience were there because some lady wanted to go. Earlier this year I brought my 7 year old grandson to the Justin Biber movie. We do these things for those we love. I've covered shifts for coworkers so they could attend events that were important to them, I've stayed late to help someone catch up or because the next shift would be short, I've gone in early for the same reason. We all have. We do things for those we care about, we set aside our own needs because we care. The bargaining committee has started to meet. We are looking at the surveys and discussing each issue. There are over 400 nurses who will be covered by our contract. We know from time to time we will disagree about the relative importance of each issue or the best way to resolve things. There will be arguments. This is what I believe -it is our diversity of opinion and our ability to discuss and even argue, that makes us strong. You do not have to agree to have a voice. We all grew up in families or knew of families where siblings fought like cats and dogs. Invariably the families who fought the most were the ones who would defend each other the most vigorously if a threat came from outside their family. So, our members will discuss and at times disagree and even argue amongst ourselves, but it will make us stronger. That is how it will be in our family. But there is no doubt in my mind, After we discuss, we will set aside our differences, we will come to consensus, and we will stand together, united and strong!