TRUMP IS FREAKING OUT! Greg Bovino Out, BUT MAGA Bootlickers Double Down After Alex Pretti Murder
PDS Published 01/27/2026
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In the war between Donald Trump and Minnesota, it appears that Minnesota is winning.
Because in the wake of Alex Pretti’s shooting, we’re seeing further proof of TACO — or as the bootlickers like to spin it, yet another masterful display of the art of the deal — with Trump apparently trying to tamp things down in Minneapolis.
This after Governor Tim Walz confirmed what Trump claimed before: that their phone call yesterday went well. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 02:03 - 02:11; Clip, 07:06 - 07:15, 07] Caption: “It was cordial. I think he understood this. I told him that this is unsustainable and I said, quite honestly, no one wants this. … Whether it was morality or bad optics and poll numbers, whatever has happened here there’s a definite change of tone. There’s definitely a more collaborative tone.”
With him saying the president agreed to let Minnesota conduct its own independent investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
[Clip, 02:23 - 02:28] Caption: “He said he would look into it, and he said look into it. ‘I hear you. We’ll look into it.’”
As well as that Trump would consider drawing down the federal presence in the state.
[Clip, 01:35 - 01:42] Caption: “And I said we just have to reduce these numbers. We started out with that, and he pledged, ‘Look, I’m gonna send Tom Homan in. We’ll do things differently.’”
Now as of Monday, DHS said approximately 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents were in the Minneapolis area. [B roll, 03:25]
And currently it’s unclear how many have left, if any, but reportedly “some” agents were expected to depart with their tails between their legs alongside the man who’s been called the “provoker in chief,” the “little Napoleon,” and “Gestapo Greg”: Gregory Bovino. [Image]
Right, he was the Border Patrol’s “commander at large” in Minnesota; you probably saw him doing these press conferences, even personally throwing tear gas at protesters. [B roll, then B roll, 00:11]
Well now, according to The Atlantic, he’s returning to his former post in El Centro, California, where he’s expected to retire soon. [Headline]
This after he was the face of Trump’s mass deportation policy on the ground for months, showing up in Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and then Minneapolis. [Image]
With him being one of the officials who spread this utter horseshit about Alex Pretti. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 01:15 - 01:20, 01:26 - 01:28, 01:45 - 01:53] Caption: “The agents attempted to disarm the individual, but he violently resisted. … A Border Patrol agent fired defensive shots. … This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” [Play B roll, 00:33]
And then, when CNN’s Dana Bash pressed him on why he thought Pretti intended to “massacre” federal agents, he blamed Democrats for putting the idea in Pretti’s head. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 04:18 - 04:31] Caption: “They’re trying to portray Border Patrol agents and ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazi, and many other words. Did this individual fall victim, as many others have, to that type of heated rhetoric?”
But even on his way out, Minnesotans gave him a well-deserved farewell, with protesters blowing whistles and banging pots and pans outside the hotel where they believed he was sleeping. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 00:05 - 00:09]
With police saying that eventually it escalated, with people damaging property and throwing objects at officers. [Continue B roll]
[Clip, 00:42 - 00:45, 00:48 - 00:55]
So reportedly some 26 people were arrested and everyone else dispersed by around 10 P.M., allowing little Napoleon to sleep soundly after getting tucked into bed by his homies.
Though even after his departure, CNN reports that DHS has suspended his access to his own social media accounts. [Image]
And right now it’s not clear why — right, his online jabs at Democratic lawmakers were relatively tame for a Trump official.
But while many critics are celebrating his departure as a victory, others are skeptical, arguing that it seems like he’s just the fall guy for the Pretti shooting, and other even worse figures will keep their jobs.
Right, of course there’s DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, there’s Vice President JD Vance, and let’s not forget FBI Director Kash Patel.
Right, in addition to his comments about Alex Pretti, he just told Benny Johnson that the Bureau is investigating protesters’ Signal group chats in Minnesota. [Lead b roll into clip]
[Clip, 05:17 - 05:39] Caption: [Benny Johnson:] “So there is now an open investigation into these chats and into this coordinated network?” [Kash Patel:] “Yeah, what I can say is-” [Benny Johnson:] “Because some of them are fleeing. Some of them are very scared now. You can see their chats. They are very very worried now that they have been exposed.” [Kash Patel:] “Well, they should be. If they broke the law, you should be worried. It’s that simple. If you didn’t break the law, there’s really nothing to worry about.”
But critics argue these high-profile figures are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to rot within the Trump administration.
With The New York Times noting that government agencies have made dozens of posts over the past month on their official social media accounts that include far-right iconography. [Headline]
so for example, the White House posted, “Which way, Greenland man?” [Post]
With some claiming that echoed the title of a 1978 neo-Nazi book “Which Way Western Man?”, which defends Hitler and claims Jewish people are plotting to destroy Western civilization.
And Trump supporters were like, come on, you’re being ridiculous — it’s just a coincidence!
But then, as if to dispell any doubts, the DHS posted, “Which way, American man?” With an ICE recruitment ad. [Post]
Also, the Labor Department posted an image with the words “Trust the plan,” a notorious QAnon catchphrase. [Post]
And then, the same department posted, “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage,” which, as many pointed out, is eerily similar to the Nazi slogan “One People, One Realm, One Leader.” [Post]
Finally, the White House and DHS jointly posted an ad with the text: “WE’LL HAVE OUR HOME AGAIN.” [Image]
Which just so happens to be the name of a song written by a self-described “pro-White fraternal order” that has been adopted almost exclusively by white nationalist groups. [Post]
Now DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin [Mick-lock-lin] denied that it had anything to do with white nationalism, saying hey, it’s just a coincidence!
But The Times noticed that when you open the post on Instagram’s mobile app, it plays audio including the chorus of the white nationalist song. [Quote, find “song played”]
So a reporter pointed that out to McLaughlin, who replied that The Times was participating in a left-wing conspiracy theory. [Quote same link, find “conspiracy”]
Then, less than 40 minutes later, the Instagram post disappeared, though the same post on X and Facebook, where it doesn’t include audio, remained up. [webpage]
But anyway, Trump continued TACOing on Minnesota yesterday, with him reportedly meeting Kristi Noem and her top aid Corey Lewandowski for nearly two hours in the Oval Office. [Headline]And while sources told The Times that Trump never suggested either person’s job was at risk, sources also told The Atlantic the opposite: that they were at risk of losing their jobs. [Quote same link, find “at risk” and Quote, find “at risk”]
So it’s unclear what Noem’s standing is with the president now, but he does seem to be pushing her aside to some extent in Minnesota.
Because like we mentioned yesterday, Trump’s sending his border czar, Tom Homan, in to replace Greg Bovino, and rather than going through Noem Trump says he’ll report directly to the president.
Also, maybe it’s just a coincidence, but as CNN pointed out, the president seems like he may have gotten the idea from the same place he gets a lot of his most impulsive ideas: Fox & Friends. [Quote, find “6:15”]
[Clip, 00:00 - 00:03, 00:18 - 00:23] Caption: “What I would do is just bring Tom Homan in. … He should go in there, meet with the mayor and governor, and go in there and take charge.”
That was around 6:15 a.m. yesterday, and Brian Kilmeade, who knows the president often watches the morning show, repeated his suggestion at 7:15 and again at 8:10. [Continue B roll]
With (what a coincidence!) Trump then announcing 20 minutes later: “I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight.”
But anyway, this move has been taken as a signal that Trump’s looking to deescalate the situation in Minnesota, which, if true, should come as a relief to many ICE agents.
Because privately, they’ve been complaining to journalists about long hours, ambitious arrest quotas and hatred from the public, among other issues.
With over 20 current or former immigration officials telling The Times expressing anxiety that the White House was sending them into situations that are increasingly dangerous both for them and local civilians. [Quote, find “20”]
Right, some worried that their agencies’ reputations were being dragged through the mud, and others feared that the backlash would lead to the abolition of ICE.
Half a dozen DHS officers also reached out to the reporter Ken Klippenstein to express their alarm at the killing of Alex Pretti. [Quote, first line]
With one Border Patrol agent writing in a group chat: “As much as I support this administration there needs to be more common sense in situations like this, not a knee jerk damage control narrative that does not line up with the evidence on video.” [Quote same link]
And an ICE agent adding, “They all carry belts and vests with 9,000 pieces of equipment on them and the best they can do is shoot a guy in the back?” [Quote same link]
With others calling ICE’s new wave of recruits “idiots” and “honestly pretty sketchy,” describing how some have “weird” tattoos. [Quotes same link]
Meanwhile, Minnesota’s chief federal judge said ICE has failed to comply with dozens of court orders, and declared yesterday: “The court’s patience is at an end.” [Headline]
With him now ordering acting ICE director Todd Lyons to appear personally in the courtroom on Friday, and explaining: [Image]
“The Court acknowledges that ordering the head of a federal agency to personally appear is an extraordinary step, but the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed.” [Quote same link]
With him describing all the ways immigrants’ rights are violated: “The detention of an alien is extended, or an alien who should remain in Minnesota is flown to Texas, or an alien who has been flown to Texas is released there and told to figure out a way to get home.” [Quote same link]
But the reports keep coming; right, even Fox News reporter Bill Melugin [Pronounce 00:08] heard from another half-dozen immigration officials who say they’ve “grown increasingly uneasy & frustrated” with the lies about Alex Pretti. [Post]
And the fact that even Fox is airing this criticism may not be random, because other parts of the Murdoch media empire have followed suit as well.
With The New York Post’s editorial board writing:
“We’re glad to see Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem elbowed aside. Her performance in recent weeks as the situation in Minnesota escalated out of control did not serve the president or the country well.” [Quote]
Then adding that she “should be wondering if she herself will eventually be ‘deported’ from the administration.”
Speaking of which, Trump told reporters today that Noem will not be stepping down, and said she’s done a “very good job.” [Headline and B roll]
But she’s not the only one getting scrutiny, because the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board argued that “Stephen Miller’s undisciplined mass deportation and zero-immigration policy is building distrust” and becoming a “political liability.” [Quote]
This after Miller called Alex Pretti a “would-be assassin,” and now the federal government workers union that Pretti belonged to as a VA nurse is demanding that both he and Noem resign, or if they refuse, that Trump fire them. [Image and Headline]
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But on the other side, you have some MAGA voices taking the opposite approach and bending over backwards to defend the killing.
With some pretty callously arguing that Alex Pretti deserved to be shot, with Megyn Kelly saying:
“He was there with a loaded gun looking to cause trouble for border patrol agents, and that trouble came back on him.” (1:59-2:08)
“Like, I know I’m supposed to feel sorry for Alex Pretti but I don’t. I don’t. Do you know why I wasn’t shot by Border Patrol this weekend? Because I kept my ass inside and out of their operations.” (5:31-5:46)
And her commentary got the most attention, with people calling her cruel, disgusting, and evil. [][][]
But you also had Nick Fuentes making similar remarks, claiming that:
“I think Renee Good was justified, I think the killing of this asshole was justified, too.” (2:07:13-2:07:19)
“You are showing up to impede federal law enforcement with a gun. Concealed. (2:32:57-2:33:03)
“This is completely justified. 100%. And by the way, I don’t care if he’s a veteran. I don’t care if he’s a nurse. I don’t care if he is a U.S. citizen. We have fucking laws in this country.” (2:38:11-2:38:21)
And while those were the harshest comments, they are far from the only right-wing media voices pinning the blame on Pretti himself.
Right, you had people like Matt Walsh writing that:
“If you dress up in your militia costume, arm yourself, and then go out into the street with the express intent of interfering with law enforcement, and then fight back when they try to arrest you, and then you end up dead, you only have yourself to blame for that whole series of deliberate and insanely idiotic decisions.”[]
And over on Fox News, you have the likes of Jesse Watters walking more of a tightrope, not doing full finger pointing, but still saying things like:
“Resisting arrest with a loaded gun is incredibly dangerous.” (2:37-2:40)
“These are the types of things that happen sadly and unfortunately, when you bring a loaded gun to a dangerous immigration raid, confront agents, and resist arrest.” (3:12-3:20)
Right, he’s still calling it unfortunate, he’s not outright celebrating it.
But his main takeaway for viewers is that it is Pretti’s fault.
So there is a wide spectrum of ways that conservatives are making this case and doubling down.
Which just shows that there are people that will find a way to back the Trump administration's actions no matter what, even if there is conservative backlash, even if there is video footage, some will not leave this side.
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Donald Trump is still weighing military action in Iran, but he now has more options for doing so – and maybe more reason to think it would lead to the end of the regime.
Right, because Trump? He already came close to ordering strikes earlier this month in response to the government’s brutal crackdown on protesters.
But he ultimately decided against it for at least two reasons:
1) he was warned that the U.S. would need more firepower in the region to launch large-scale strike against Iran while also protecting American forces and allies such as Israel
and 2) he was told that a large-scale strike was unlikely to make the government fall anyways.
And as far as lack of firepower? That’s partly because the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Ford, had been moved out of the Middle East and into the Caribbean to support the campaign against Venezuela.
But now, while that ship deals with a massive 13 billion dollar toilet problem, the USS Lincoln, which was previously stationed in the South China Sea?
It’s arriving in the Middle East – carrying dozens of fighter jets and nearly 5,000 sailors.
And it’s accompanied by three destroyers each carrying dozens of missiles and air defenses along with hundreds more sailors.
The strike group is reportedly still too far away to easily strike Iran but is expected to pull closer in coming days — moving to either the Gulf of Oman or the North Arabian Sea.
With one current and one former U.S. official telling The Washington Post that "additional military assets” are moving into the region as well – but that they won’t all be there for at least another week. []
And in the meantime, Trump may have been given reason to second-guess his advisors who warned that military action wouldn’t lead to regime change.
Right, he’s reportedly been on the receiving end of multiple intelligence briefings indicating that the Iranian government is just growing weaker and weaker.
In fact, according to The New York Times, the reports suggest that the Ayatollah’s hold on power is at its weakest point since the shah was overthrown in the 1979 revolution.[]
And that’s not only because of the protests, which seem to have died down.
It’s also because the country’s failing economy, which actually sparked the protests, is still getting worse – with the Iranian currency hitting a new record low just today.
And that’s without mentioning that many of the militant groups across the region that make up Iran’s self-described "Axis of Resistance" may also be as weak as they’ve ever been.
Although, that said, you have had two of these groups threatening to launch new attacks in recent days.
With the Houthis in Yemen suggesting that they might resume attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Kataib (Kah-tayb) Hezbollah in Iraq warning that any attack against Iran would result in a “total war” in the region.
And you’ve also had the Iranian government striking a defiant tone.
This weekend, for example, it unveiled a new mural on a giant billboard in central Tehran depicting a bird’s-eye view of an aircraft carrier – with damaged and exploding fighter planes and bloody bodies strewn on the deck and the words:
“If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.”
You’ve also had a senior official warning that Iran has placed its forces on “high alert” – adding:
“...we are ready for a worst-case scenario.” []
With him also contrasting the current moment with the 12-day war with Israel over the summer – and adding:
“Iran tried to be very restrained, predictable and measured in its responses to both Israelis and Americans.”
“This time, we take any attack — limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic ... whatever they call it — as an all-out war against us. And we will respond in the hardest way possible.” []
And with that, Trump hasn’t backed down either.
He has described the naval vessels arriving in the region as an “armada” and said they’re on their way “just in case” he decides to take action.
And then this week he said in an interview with Axios that the situation with Iran is “in flux” while also claiming “They want to make a deal” – adding:
“I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk." []
And with that, some people in Trump’s orbit do reportedly believe the best path forward is using the regime's weakness to push for a deal.
WIth officials telling Axios that any deal would have to include the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran and a ban on independent uranium enrichment in the country.
As well as a cap on Iran's long-range missile stockpile and a change in the country’s policy of supporting proxies in the region. []
But others have reportedly been pushing for Trump to take military action and finish off the regime once and for all.
You’ve had Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, for example, saying he spoke with Trump recently and expected the president to follow through on his promise to help Iranians who had been protesting – telling the New York Times:
“The goal is to end the regime.”
“They may stop killing them today, but if they’re in charge next month, they’ll kill them then.”
And with that, Graham? He may have a point.
Right, Trump claimed Iran had halted executions of protesters following his threats.
But Iranian officials have pushed back against that claim – saying the judiciary never made such a decision.
And regardless of what happens next, what the Iranian government has done so far is already truly shocking.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says nearly 42,000 people have been arrested since the protests began.
And the total number of confirmed deaths according to the group is more than 6,000
Though, notably, the number of deaths still under investigation stands at over 17,000. []
And, on that note, there are estimates that the true death toll could actually exceed 30,000.
Also, notably, doctors have described injuries suggesting systematic killing and maiming of protesters as opposed to random shooting – saying that the most common were close-range gunshots and severe stab wounds, typically to the chest, eyes and genitals.
With some medical workers reporting that they had received bodies with close-range gunshot wounds while still hooked up to medical equipment – suggesting they were killed while under active medical care, likely in a hospital. []
A possibility backed by photographs verified by an Iranian factchecking organisation which show dead patients in body bags wearing hospital gowns, with catheters still attached, and what appear to be gunshot wounds to the forehead. []
Also, notably, testimony from morgues, graveyards and hospitals around the country? They reportedly show a clear effort by authorities to conceal the full extent of the carnage.
With witnesses saying the government has transported the deceased in ice-cream vans and meat trucks as well as hastily burned PILES of bodies – and hundreds of the dead are apparently disappearing from the country’s network of forensic facilities. []
And with all that, some of those who have risked their lives protesting in Iran have said they feel betrayed by Trump’s inaction so far despite his claims to care about them.
And, of course, Trump’s comments on Iran seem kind of ironic when you consider how he has responded to protests in the US.
But they’re also laughable when you consider the fact that his administration has now resumed deportations to Iran.
Right, because if you didn’t know, there has been an increased number of Iranians entering the US in recent years – including many who fear persecution at home.
But several months ago, despite not having formal diplomatic relations with Iran, Trump struck a deal to have the country accept deportation flights.
And, on Sunday, fourteen Iranians were reportedly sent back on what is believed to be the first deportation flight to Iran since the protests began.
But the number may soon be much higher.
Right, there were originally supposed to be dozens of people on that flight, but some were kept off after being exposed to the measles.
There’s still plans to deport them though, and there’s concerns that they will just become the latest victims of the regime.
Right, two men, for example, according to their lawyer? They’re gay and face “an extremely high chance” of being executed if they are forced to return. []
[TRANSITION INTO LILI’S] But, for now, they’re still alive, although there are many that can’t say the same.
Including the people killed in Trump’s attacks on boats he claimed without giving evidence were carrying drugs to the United States.
And now some of their families have filed a wrongful death suit over the strikes, marking the first legal challenge to the administration’s claim that the killings are lawful.
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Right, the suit was filed in a U.S. federal court, and it claims that Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo were traveling from Venezuela back home to Trinidad and Tobago when the Trump administration struck their boat, alleging it was smuggling drugs.
But neither of these men had any connection to the drug trade — they had both been in Venezuela fishing and doing farm work and just needed a ride home.
What’s more, the families say that the U.S. never even informed them that their loved ones had been killed.
But both men just vanished after telling their families that they had found a boat to take home in mid-October, with Trump then announcing the military had attacked such a boat, killing six.
And this case is INCREDIBLY significant because it marks the first time a lawsuit has been filed in American courts challenging Trump’s strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats off the coast of Venezuela.
Right, the strike in question here was just the fifth of these attacks — there have been 36 that we know about, and 125 people have been killed.
And this new landmark legal challenge was brought in a federal court in Massachusetts on behalf of the families by the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Now, very notably here, the case doesn’t name any specific individuals, but instead accuses the U.S. government as a whole of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings.
Right, specifically, the suit challenges the administration’s claims that the killings are legal and don’t constitute murder because Trump has “determined” all by himself that the U.S. is in an official state of armed conflict with a secret list of drug cartels and gangs that he has decided are terrorists.
A claim that has also been WIDELY contradicted by numerous legal experts in the field, who note that Congress hasn’t authorized any such armed conflict, and the administration has repeatedly failed to provide any kind of legal explanation for why trafficking drugs to the U.S. can even be considered an armed conflict.
And that’s the same argument the family members made in their lawsuit, claiming that there is no legal state of armed conflict just because Trump decided there was, so the rules of war don’t apply, and the killings “were simply murders.”
With the suit going on to claim that the two men were “not engaged in activities that presented a concrete, specific and imminent threat of death or serious physical injury,” and noting that there were other means besides lethal force that could have been used to neutralize such a threat.
But, beyond that, the case argues that even if the strike did occur during a legal armed conflict — which, to be clear, it did not — it would STILL be illegal because it was an intentional killing of civilians who had nothing to do with drug trafficking.
Now, one thing that’s very important to note with this case is that experts say it is generally very hard to win a lawsuit against the government — especially for non-U.S. citizens abroad who aren’t covered by the Constitution.
But the lawyers for the Trinidadian families specifically pointed to a pair of 1920 statutes that make the U.S. government liable for alleged offenses at sea that result in wrongful death and allow family members to sue over those wrongful deaths.
With the attorneys also noting another 1789 statute that allows foreign nationals to sue the U.S. government in federal court over violations of international human rights law.
Including deaths that took place outside an armed conflict without judicial process.
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Meanwhile, you still have a ton of people trying to post critical commentary of Trump and ICE arguing that they are being censored on TikTok.
And now, Gavin Newsom is launching an investigation into these claims.
Right, we touched on some of this yesterday, you had a ton of people claiming that their videos about ICE were either not getting posted, or were being suppressed and receiving no views.
And while TikTok said that a power outage was causing technical issues preventing users from posting any kind of content, people just did not buy that, especially considering the timing, because TikTok is now under new ownership in the U.S.[]
With some claiming that in addition to censoring content about ICE, TikTok was also blocking people from discussing Jeffrey Epstein in DMs. []
And so people began testing this out, right, The Verge sent a message with the name Epstein, and was told the text “may be in violation of our Community Guidelines and has not been sent.”[]
But they also got that same error when just sending the word “test,” suggesting there was likely a larger technical issue with DMs, not just pertaining to the word Epstein.
But still, some users only had the problem with his name.
Right, one of our writers tested it yesterday, sending a bunch of politically charged names, and only got blocked from saying Epstein.
And TikTok did end up addressing this issue, telling NPR that:
"We don't have rules against sharing the name 'Epstein' in direct messages and are investigating why some users are experiencing issues.”[]
And as of this morning, our team was able to send Epstein’s name in DMs without any issues.
But the timing of it all, it’s a bad look.
Because the second the app fell to the U.S. joint venture, it has been plagued with technical glitches, and in this climate, many are quickly interpreting these “glitches” as political interference.
Right, so whether or not TikTok is doing this intentionally, it almost doesn't matter, the timing is a perfect storm, and you have tons of people not trusting TikTok’s U.S. ownership, seeing it as pro-Trump censorship.
With California Governor Gavin Newsom announcing last night:
“It’s time to investigate. I am launching a review into whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring Trump-critical content.”[]
With his press office saying that they had “independently confirmed” instances of suppression.[]
And he is not the only lawmaker sounding the alarm here, you had one California state Senator claiming that “TikTok is now state-controlled media.”[]
And Senator Chris Murphy writing that:
“I know it's hard to track all the threats to democracy out there right now, but this is at the top of the list.”[]
For its part, TikTok is saying that "It would be inaccurate to report that this is anything but the technical issues we've transparently confirmed."[]
And the White House has also said it is “not involved in, nor has it made requests related to, TikTok’s content moderation.”[]
But we will have to see if this lack of trust in the app meaningfully changes the way users engage with it.
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And getting back into news you need to know, the battle between healthcare companies and their workers is spreading from coast to coast.
Right, more than 30,000 Kaiser Permanente employees in California and Hawaii walked off the job yesterday in an open-ended strike for higher wages and staffing solutions. []
And it’s more than just nurses - we’re talking pharmacists, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, dieticians and more.
All represented by United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals or UNAC/UHCP.
With the union’s president saying they’re walking out because their employer, Kaiser Permanente, unilaterally stopped the bargaining process back in December. []
Right, they shut down talks with a national coalition of labor groups representing healthcare workers as well as all the local chapters.
And, according to Kaiser, that was after the company offered what it described as its “strongest national bargaining offer ever” of 21.5% wage increases. []
Which was the counteroffer to the workers’ requested 25% wage increase over 4 years.
Though the union argues Kaiser scrapped any discussion for finding solutions to address employee burnout and safety.
Now, Kaiser Permanente Southern California said in a statement that they decided to cancel bargaining because, quote “it has become clear that the national process is gridlocked.” []
And they filed a lawsuit last week arguing that the union wasn’t coming to the table in good faith.
Specifically, they’re accusing the workers of attempting “to coerce concessions” by threatening to release a report of compiled allegedly unethical and unsafe Kaiser practices. []
With the senior vice president adding that the strike is “unnecessary” and, quote, “designed to disrupt the lives of our patients.”
Adding,
“Employees deserve their raises, and patients deserve our full attention, not prolonged disputes.” []
Now, the union has responded to the lawsuit by saying it’s “without merit” and claiming the company is trying to use a legal challenge to break down bargaining.
Adding they remain, quote, “committed to the process and to getting a good contract.” []
But the nursing strike problem isn’t limited to the west - nurses in New York City have been striking for more than 2 weeks. []
Some 15,000 workers represented by the New York State Nurses Association have been striking against 4 hospitals in the city - Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, and NewYork-Presbyterian. []
Demanding better pay, better staffing, and better protections against workplace violence.
Demands that the hospitals have maintained are unreasonable - with Mount Sinai insisting that the nurses are asking for wage increases that will hike the average salary to $275,000. []
Which, according to NYSNA, is a gross mischaracterization of their goals - saying the strike is more about their other demands than about their pay.
With one nurse on the picket line saying,
“If they were to move away from the money for just a second and look at the basic needs of human care, maybe they can see what we are fighting for.” []
And other nurses on the picket line have been specifically highlighting concerns about insufficient staffing to reporters.
Telling stories about the hospitals leaving nurses with too many patients to care for at once.
As of now, there’s no end in sight for this strike either - with no negotiations scheduled as of Friday.
But the nurses did get one substantial win - reaching an agreement with a couple of the hospitals to maintain health care benefits. []
With the NYSNA statement reading,
“Working through mediators, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian agreed to maintain the current high-quality NYSNA Plan A health coverage without cuts. Hospitals and NYSNA must still reach final tentative contract agreements.”
"NYSNA nurses at all four hospitals are ready and willing to bargain in good faith on other priority issues to settle fair contracts whenever mediators call us back to the table." []
And the New York nurses are back on the picket line as of today after taking the weekend off because of the massive snowstorm that hit the city.
But the issue of nurse staffing goes all the way up to the top - beyond the companies themselves and straight to the desk of the president.
