“Vitamin C” The RSO’s company leaflet at the Charité

Staff newspaper

“Vitamin C” – The company leaflet of the Revolutionary Socialist Organization (RSO) at the Charité
Homepage:“Vitamin C” – there is also a register of all older editions and all individual contributions to the leaflets

• Vitamin C from September 24, 2026: After the election is before the protests
  “With 25.7%, “The Left” became the strongest party in Berlin in the elections. Among younger voters it was even 46%. The CDU and SPD lost heavily, the FDP is listed as “other” – they all deserve that. The Left campaigned on social issues such as rents that were too high, pensions that were too low and solidarity. That's nothing particularly "extreme", but that was one of the few voices against the shift to the right and against the Merz government's clear-cutting policy. The fact that the CDU was even thrown out of the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for this can only bring joy…” Editorial byVitamin C from September 24, 2026 
• Vitamin C from August 20, 2026: Climate protection is health protection: heat protection for everyone!
  “Summer this year was hot. Working in the summer, when people could be at the lake or the sea, is not much fun anyway. If it is over 30° during the day and over 20° at night, every shift becomes an additional torture. There is no trace of heat protection almost everywhere and the tips from “drink more” to “avoid exertion” are of little help when physical work has to be done - whether in the hospital, on construction, in agriculture, in transport and logistics, but office work is also unbearable at these temperatures. Helpfrom the government – ​​none. Merz will “watch” the summer and continue to enjoy his vacation…” Editorial byVitamin C from August 20, 2026 
• Vitamin C from June 25th, 2026: Billions for the few, cuts for the majority - everyone to the demo on June 27th and the further protests!
  “Almost every day you hear some crap coming from the government. Last week the Pension Commission developed 30 “reform proposals”. Now the cat is out of the bag, the proposals are to work longer and make pension payments dependent on the stock market. It goes like this all the time. The economy is crying and the CDU/SPD are laying the ax to the welfare state…” Editorial byVitamin C from June 25, 2026 – the last one until August
• Vitamin C from May 28, 2026: From boos to strikes: patience is at an end!
  “Merz is unpopular? Of course! In the federal election he only received 22.6% of the votes cast. But he only does politics for the top one percent. This arrogant guy loves the world of the super rich and hates the working class. He shows this openly on every talk show or recently at the Congress of the German Trade Union Confederation, where he was booed. With the lowest sympathy ratings ever, he is in good company with Trump and Macron. They are all hated because their warmongering policies cause their populations to bleed.(…)
  No to all attacks on wage earners!
  For higher wages and social benefits! Merz and the business representatives know that we are not prepared to simply swallow this. That's why they spread lies about the supposedly lazy youth or against migrants. And they are increasing the pressure by demanding that everything social be abolished. They want to isolate us and make us compliant. Where is the journey going? This is entirely up to us and our willingness to unite and organize protests and strikes. This has to happen in companies, in neighborhoods, as committed parents and as young people. All together.” Editorial of theVitamin C from May 28, 2026 and other reports, including:
  • “Learned nothing
    Corona had shown that pathogens know no borders and that poor healthcare in other countries also leads to problems here locally. It is commendable that the doctor with Ebola disease is being treated at the Charite. But what about the hundreds of patients in the crisis area? The countries are too poor for an effective health system for everyone. The distributive injustice of capitalism ensures that infectious diseases continue to spread. The death of many people seems far away. But as I said… viruses know no borders.”
  • “Ms. Warken,
    the Techniker Krankenkasse has evaluated its statistics. Employees in nursing professions are still sick more often than in other areas. Much more so in geriatric care than in clinics. No, Ms. Warken, it's not because we're lazy. And it's not just because we work very closely with people with various illnesses, but is also due to the harsh working conditions. The Contribution Stabilization Act will further tighten this. We won't put up with that. They can't get away with this.”
• Vitamin C from April 30, 2026: Against the wars and social attacks of the bosses, long live the answer of the working class and internationalists!
  “Talking about capitalism as a war threat has long been outdated by reality: a million people were killed in the war in Ukraine (including the Russian people who served as Putin's cannon fodder). Israel's war in Palestine has escalated into genocide for two years. The US war in the Middle East now finally looks like the harbinger of a world war. Germany is a main factor in global rearmament. The Defense Minister announced that...The Bundeswehr will soon be the “strongest conventional army in Europe”...” Editorial byVitamin C from April 30, 2026 and other contributions
• Vitamin C from April 2nd, 2026: Your crises - our lives - our demands
  “Every day we hear about the multi-crisis: climate change, wars, energy price explosions, empty coffers in the state and social security funds, increasing unemployment, refugees, it doesn't stop. Yes, Western corporations have benefited from globalization for decades and created a super-rich class of billionaires. And now their economic system, in which they feel so comfortable, is going completely crazy. The constant increase in capital always requires new divisions of economic and political spheres of influence. These are the problems of the  capitalists. But what do we have to do with their damn problems?…” Editorial byVitamin C from April 2nd, 2026  and other topics
• Vitamin C from March 5, 2026: Trump and Netanyahu: Hands off Iran!
  “The US and Israeli governments have started a new war in the Middle East. They have been bombing Iran since Saturday morning. The first 5 days left more than 1,000 dead and many injured. The American-Israeli bombing of a school in southern Iran killed 168 children. In  retaliation, the Iranian regime is targeting Israel where itThere are also victims, it is attacking US military bases in neighboring Arab states and has closed the Hormuz shipping route, which is important for global oil trade. Oil prices promptly rose. Israel began bombing Lebanon on Monday, killing over 70 people so far; 83,000 are on the run. And while our attention is focused on this dangerous escalation, Israel has almost completely sealed off the Gaza Strip and is allowing almost no aid deliveriesmore pure. The Palestinians are being starved again. This dangerous escalation is the result of the desire of the major capitalist powers to bring Iran under their control, like all other regimes in the region. A dictator is dead... but the dictatorship lives on..." Editorials and other topics in theVitamin C from March 5, 2026 
• Vitamin C from February 5, 2026: We are all Renée Good and Alex Pretti!
  “Last Friday, tens of thousands of people demonstrated across the United States against the racist actions of the immigration agency ICE. That was also the day Bruce Springsteen came to Minneapolis to sing for the first time the song he had written within hours of each other in honor of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. Both were ruthlessly murdered by ICE agents in this city that is now at the center of the revolt against Trump's criminalsPolitics stands. Under pressure from the street, he had to remove the notorious ICE chief Bovino from Minneapolis. “ICE out!”…” Editorial inVitamin C from February 5, 2026 and other messages, such as:
  • “Solidarity, tenderness… you get the idea
    The colleagues at the Vivantes subsidiaries start on February 9th. their industrial dispute. They finally want to be paid according to the same collective agreement (TVöD) that applies to Vivantes. This won't be easy. But we at Charité and CFM can support them. We'll just go visit them at the picket line. We go to their rallies and demonstrations. We confront politics and management with them. We demand a solidarity strike from our union“ – see our dossier for background information:Colleagues from the service companies at Charité and vivantes are starting the UPRISING OF THE DAUGHTERS together – United we stand!
• Vitamin C from January 16, 2026: Imperialism strikes, will the masses fight back?
  “The year began with Trump's military intervention in Venezuela to seize its oil and new announcements of annexation of Greenland and its resources. In addition, the US President is now threatening a new military intervention against Iran. Under the pretext of coming to the aid of the Iranian population, which is rebelling against the dictatorship of the mullahs under the religious leader Khamenei and is defying repression that has already led to several thousand deaths and well over ten thousand arrests…” Editorial byVitamin C from January 16, 2026 and other contributions, including:
  • “Relief at the Charite even after 2026?
    The collective relief agreement expires in 2026 and must be renegotiated. It's time to improve ward regulations or regulate areas such as outpatient clinics or administration. The Charité will not know anything about this and will want to change the collective agreement to our detriment. So we have to implement improvements, even with strikes. The first step is the following survey:https://berliner-hospitalmotion.de/umfragetvgfb/ The questions there are tough. But you can answer them alone or in a team. In any case, don’t hesitate to ask colleagues for help.”
• Vitamin C from December 4th, 2025: Young people should go to war? That's crazy, we won't participate!
  “The SPD-CDU government is pushing towards compulsory military service. The law is scheduled to be voted on in the Bundestag on December 5th. According to the plans, all 18-year-old men and women would receive a questionnaire next year with questions about their suitability for the Bundeswehr. For men, answering is mandatory, for women – still – voluntary. All men born after January 1, 2008 will then be “musted” from July 2027. Around 300,000 young men of one age group are to be assessed for military fitness. It's about checking which people are available as cannon fodder and for work duties. Compulsory military service is firmly planned if not enough people volunteer to join the army. The rejection is growing…” Editorial byVitamin C from December 4th, 2025 and other reports, including:
  • “Better war medicine than cancer medicine?
    Capitalism always leads to conflicts and desires that are resolved with armed force. Also in Europe. There always seem to be criminals who are used as a justification for shooting. Dying, losing limbs, being raped, soldiers being patched up... that's the consequence for the people in the war zones. The Berlin clinics should prepare for war. We don't want to prepare for wars, we want to help people and improve the current situation in their homes! That's why it's a success that the Bundeswehr was uninvited to the "Berlin Emergency Services Symposium" following our pressure.”
• Vitamin C from November 7th, 2025: Imperialism is on the offensive, but the populations are protesting loudly
  “In early September, Trump stationed an aircraft carrier off the coast of Venezuela and ordered the bombing of ships in the Caribbean. The people on board were immediately labeled as drug traffickers and killed without any evidence - or perhaps they were just simple fishermen. Now Trump is announcing a CIA operation against the Venezuelan president and threatening the Colombian leader, whom he accuses of complicity in drug trafficking. Trump once again bluntly reminds us that Latin America is the US's backyard, where American companies can expand without restrictions….” Editorial inVitamin C from November 7th, 2025 and other reports
• Vitamin C from October 6th, 2025: Is peace achievable?
  “The fact that peace will return to Europe after the fall of the Wall is a dream of yesterday. Even beyond Ukraine, a warlike-military worldview is increasingly spreading in Europe. The German government is at the forefront of warmongering. But there is also resistance: After 100,000 people demonstrated against arms deliveries to Israel last Saturday under the motto all eyes on Gaza, there was another demonstration against the war on October 3rd.We have to stand against the war plans!..” Editorial inVitamin C from October 6th, 2025  and other messages, such as:
  • Let’s put it plainly: What’s that supposed to mean??
    “There are rumors circulating through the CFM that the collective agreement will somehow be ready at some point soon. Wage increases are even expected to be paid out soon. What's that supposed to mean? We've been waiting for a TV for months, the CFM wants to reduce the one-off payment and wage increases, ... But we won't let ourselves be kept small! Let's show management and politics our anger on October 6th. to the laying of the foundation stone of the German Heart Center at the CVK or go on educational leave on December 9th and 10th. to the ver.di trade union workshop.”
  • The model is setting a precedent
    “In Erfurt, Helios shows once again that profit and profit maximization are above all else. For this purpose, the activities of the service staff in the hospital there are delegated to the already understaffed nursing staff. Over 800 employees protested against this practice in an open letter. It wasn't just about their own working conditions or the threatened dismissal of service staff. They also spoke about the consequences for patients and pointed out that with this practice Helios is trying to exclude the health insurance companies and thus their contributors. Because currently the nursing staff “at the bedside” are paid 100% of the nursing care budget by the health insurance companies. We also know something similar in Berlin, e.g. B. from the Jewish Hospital. But here at the Charité there are apparently efforts to reduce the number of service staff.”
• Vitamin C from September 4th, 2025: Warning: Merz announces “Autumn of Reforms”.
  “At the CDU Lower Saxony party conference, Chancellor Merz asked: “Those who work for 530 euros a month, you have to ask them the question, why can’t you also work for 2,000 euros a month?” Is this satire or what? Can't someone who talks such nonsense for 30,000 euros a month also do the same for 530 euros a month? Are Merz's wages too low? Does he want a 400% pay increase? (…) The line does not run between the “hardworking” and the “lazy”. Nor does it run between migrants and Germans. The blame for all social problems lies solely “at the top” with the very large corporations and banks. They know nothing other than profits. This includes increasing exploitation. That is why they are calling for the extension of working hours, the reduction of jobs, the reduction of pensions, the bashing against citizens' money, and therefore the pressure on health care to provide basic protection. (…) If they are planning an “autumn of reforms”, then we must plan an “autumn of protests”.…” Editorial of theVitamin C from September 4th, 2025  and other messages, e.g.:
  • “Human ver.di
    It is not particularly helpful that the ver.di union is also campaigning for a new personnel assessment tool in nursing. New? Well, more like old wine in new bottles. It's about the PPR2.0. More experienced colleagues know this exactly. There is a lot to say about this, but perhaps one shortcut: This instrument accompanied the years of massive staff cuts in nursing. We have found a better instrument. The ratios and the associated consequence management in the relief collective agreements. The experts in day-to-day work know quite well how much staff they need, especially in relation to the specific characteristics of the clinic. Instead of enforcing TV-E's in more and more clinics, part of the ver.di management is based on ancient concepts.”
  • “Reductions in working hours a la Charité
    The doctors also have a new collective agreement. A highlight that has been implemented is the reduction in working hours to 40 hours per week. The Charité is now using this reduction in working hours to put its colleagues under pressure. Reductions in working hours and desired changes to on-call services require more medical staff. The bosses' solution is now: a “voluntary” extension of working hours to 48 hours. The aim should be to urge over 50% of doctors to sign such a side agreement. Bizarre, but what the CFM is doing with the key issues paper is continued in the “tariff loyalty” towards doctors.”
• Vitamin C from July 3rd, 2025: Stop the wars of Israel, the USA and German support!
  “Three weeks ago Israel started another war against Iran. US President Trump also had the 13-ton “bunker-busting” bombs, which only the US Army has, bombarded Iran’s nuclear facilities. More destruction and deaths, especially in Iran, but also Israel. And “our” Chancellor Merz expresses his “respect” to Israel and thanks the fact that others do “the dirty work”. But not in our name!..” Editorial of theVitamin C from July 3, 2025 – until September during the summer break
• Vitamin C from May 22, 2025: The Israeli state is killing and German politicians are aiding and abetting
  “On May 5, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the “intensification” of the military offensive in Gaza. He openly explained the expulsion policy: "We are destroying more and more houses, and the people of Gaza have nowhere to return. The only and inevitable result will be the residents' desire to leave the Gaza Strip." Gaza will be completely occupied. This is not new. Top Israeli politicians have been saying this since October 2023…” Editorial byVitamin C from May 22, 2025 
  • There is also a lot of information about the strike at CFM, quoted in the dossier:Fighting for the repatriation of CFM since 2016: For wages that are enough to live on! Against collective bargaining and precarious employment at the Charité
• Vitamin C from May 6th, 2025: A chamber of horrors
  “The federal government stands. CDU-Merz and SPD-Klingbeil have accommodated their circle of friends, which firmly embodies the political program of the coalition agreement: “strengthen the economy” - everything for the profits of the exploiters and for rearmament, with social attacks and authoritarian turnaround. (…) Anyone who wants to fight against right-wing extremism must also organize against the government's attacks. All those who not only want to avert the dismantling of labor rights and democratic rights, but also want to improve life for all of us as workers, as young people and older people, must work together more than before. Every strike and every demonstration is already political. They need to be bundled and developed. No sacrifice, no lazy compromise, we are right to fight for a better life!“Editorial of theVitamin C from May 6, 2025 and therein, among other things, about CFM:
  • “Arbitration proceedings at the CFM?     
    We have no idea what the bosses are planning next. They have already taken their own employees to court. Even without arbitration, they try to explain to us that our demands are too high. If they paid according to TVÖD we would be too expensive. The Charité cannot afford this. So there is nothing more than their offer. Experience from other strikes shows that blackmail often follows: If we do not agree to their offer, they will withdraw it and we would receive even less. But our strike is effective. Packaged food is being bought and distributed, canteens and cafeterias are closed, cleaning is severely affected, examination processes are severely delayed, maintenance of medical technology is restricted... The discontent among colleagues against the bosses is growing. We are not to blame for the state and local government's cash situation and our wallets are emptier than the state treasury. No landlord, no grocer and not even the BVG take us into consideration. Our strike will continue.” (See also the dossier:Fighting for the repatriation of CFM since 2016: For wages that are enough to live on! Against collective bargaining and precarious employment at the Charité)
• Vitamin C from April 16, 2025: For a world without borders, war and exploitation!
  “In early April, Trump first declared war on the world and imposed incredible tariffs on imports into the US, only to then take a “pause”… except for China. All fantasies of a madman who causes “the markets” to crash? Certainly not, because a short time later he issued exceptions. The business models of Apple and other US companies are based on the exploitation of Chinese workers. What's more, some of Trump's billionaire cronies in the financial world made big billions during this turmoil. (…) They want social war within and armed war without. But we don't want to be slaves to the corporate bosses or their cannon fodder!“Editorial toVitamin C from April 16, 2025and other topics including:
  • The holy grail: TVÖD?
    “We colleagues have been fighting for TVÖD at the CFM for years. We have had to and must go on strike repeatedly because neither the Senate keeps its promises nor the CFM/Charité will give in for the payment that we are entitled to! We work in the public service and that means our tariff is the TVÖD! As we can see not only from the arbitration result, the TVÖD is not a holy grail with top conditions, but a minimum that we are simply entitled to.”
  • Care à la CFM
    “The CFM is so caring. Even in a strike, she wants us to feel comfortable and not have to work too hard as an emergency service. Or why do so many of us report that more colleagues are supposed to maintain the emergency service than are normally planned for the respective area after the strike? The CFM even wants to offer the union secretary free room and board in prison for a while. The CFM applied for administrative fines and, alternatively, administrative detention for the Ver.di secretary if the emergency service requirements were not implemented quickly enough. What could be really difficult if only two colleagues go on strike, but a third has to go into emergency service.”
  • Don't let it slow you down!
    “Clearly the situation on April 4th. was difficult and turbulent. Many of us were sent from the picket line to emergency duty as required by the court. There was great anger towards the CFM and the court. After intensive “consultation” by the union secretary, we decided at our strike meeting to suspend the strike. Out of concern that our strike might be too weak when so many of us have to perform emergency service and to gather strength for a response to the CFM's actions. But this gives the CFM even more time to prepare and take further action against our strike. We hear e.g. B. by hiring more and more leasing workers. Instead, our strike must be further democratized. This concerns e.g. B. the decisions and the necessary tasks in strike leadership etc. The more of us are active, the harder it will be for the CFM to divide us.”
  • See the dossier for the current background:Fighting for the repatriation of CFM since 2016: For wages that are enough to live on! Against collective bargaining and precarious employment at the Charité
• Vitamin C from March 13, 2025: Instead of health & co: unbridled rearmament
  “On Tuesday, the likely future coalition partners CDU/CSU and SPD agreed on changes to the “debt brake” and a “special fund”. It's something like 800 or 900 billion euros…” Editorial of theVitamin C from March 13, 2025  and therein also:
  • “Strike and sunshine
    What more does it take? Sure, a demonstration by more than 1,500 colleagues from the clinics and service subsidiaries. It shows us: We are not alone! More people than ever before are taking part in the strike. We have the power to enforce the TVÖD (Public Service Collective Agreement) at the CFM. Our demands are met bysupports colleagues at the Charité and beyond. Together we are strong and stronger.
    The bosses are blocking, but we are making history
    Also in the third round of negotiations of the CFM on March 10th. The negotiators from the CFM came empty-handed. Contrary to their announcement, there were neither figures on the CFM's economic situation nor an offer in response to our demands. Maybe they just forgot about them, so here it is again: TVÖD! Right to full time! 500 euro bonus for ver.di members! More money for jumpers!
    Her smile is strained
    700 colleagues on strike. Right on the first day of the strike. On the second, no less. The CFM management didn't want to believe it. And he came by us strikers several times and probably wanted to see if that was really true. We already know their talk about: We'll never get TVÖD, we should be more modest, etc. They didn't have to come over specifically for that. You saw it. All departments were affected by the strike. Cleaners en masse on strike, catering almostparalyzed, patient transport didn't take place, Steri paralyzed... but yes, they noticed it and they are afraid of our strength.
    Was the strike noticeable?
    But something! No cleaning, no beds, food in plastic bowls and the Charité begs its alumni to carry out patient transport.
    Fundraising campaign
    Are you currently on strike for better pay, more days off, paid breaks? Are you providing emergency services on the ward or in the area during the strike? Very good! We are fighting for better working conditions, but we have around 3,000 colleagues who are not even paid according to TVÖD. They do have the name Charité on their ID cards, but with the addition Facility Management GmbH. Most of these colleagues earn so little that it is not possible for them to make financial provisions for strike days and to make ends meet with strike pay. They need your help to enforce their strike demands. Also financially. Donate here:https://gofund.me/8e791991 …”
  • See the dossier for the current background:Fighting for the repatriation of CFM since 2016: For wages that are enough to live on! Against collective bargaining and precarious employment at the Charité
• Vitamin C from March 6, 2025 : What does Merz bring us?
• Vitamin C from February 12, 2025 
• Vitamin C from January 9th, 2025: We have a choice!
  “The year 2024 ended bombastically: In Schöneberg, a bullet bomb damaged over 30 apartments on New Year's Eve... So the year started with a big bang. Great excitement on all channels. One wishes that the real wars in Gaza, Ukraine or Sudan or the economic wars of large corporations would not receive less attention. So we can tick off 2024. What will 2025 bring us?…” Editorials and more inVitamin C from January 9, 2025 including:
  • “2025 is off to a really good start
    Because the running times have come to an end! Whether it's new negotiations for the TVÖD - the colleagues from the Charité and Vivantes are at the forefront - or theCollective bargaining agreement for our colleagues at CFM. We are all ready! And our bosses know this. Rumor has it that the upper echelons of the CFM are already tryingto intimidate: don't ask too much, otherwise we'll have to outsource. So outsource from the outsourced! Not with us!“
• Vitamin C from December 12, 2024: Cannot be shortened - The bosses want to cut? The answer is protest!
  “Since the time of Corona, there has rightly been a growing feeling that companies and governments are an ever-increasing nuisance. After the price explosions, there are now massive layoffs. And on top of that there are the many austerity measures. The Berlin CDU/SPD Senate also delivered. Thank you for this “nice”  Christmas surprise. It is already possible to estimate what the coming federal government will do. None of them are preparing anything good. There is only one possible answer to this: unite and take to the streets for our own demands…” Editorial byVitamin C from December 12, 2024 and other reports, including:
  • “heart racing
    The Berlin Senate has presented its savings list for 2025: clear-cutting in culture, 29 euro tickets are history, new subway trains are a thing of the past... But the Charité is also getting its fat off - €20 million less for the faculty. This will rightly make some scientists with a fixed-term contract feel uneasy. In addition, the Charité is to take out a loan of more than €50 million to help finance part of the new heart center building. We employees can then pay off this loan. You immediately feel your heart racing, out of anger.” and
  • “Yes to Berlin, no to saving money
    There have already been three demonstrations under this motto in the last few weeks. Every now and then we become more. But in order to overthrow the Senate's austerity list, we need more: a movement that cannot be divided!“
• Vitamin C from November 7th, 2024: We can no longer afford the rich
  “One “breaking news” after another flashes across the Tagesschau & Co websites. Sometimes it’s the bad news from Economics Minister Habeck: the German economy simply doesn’t want to grow. Sometimes it's Finance Minister Lindner's horror: 14 billion are missing from the federal, state and local tax revenues. And then also 17.8 billion that are missing from statutory health insurance companies. And worst of all: after Volkswagen, Porsche is now also reporting a “slump in profits”. There is a clamor of plans and demands to save the economy from all parties, economic institutes and boards of directors. Neither the super-rich families nor the business people have to face this new oneBusyness panic. Taxation of large fortunes and corporations is not on the agenda…” Editorial inVitamin C from November 7th, 2024 
• Vitamin C from October 2, 2024: Israel's endless war and the complicity of the great powers
  “After Gaza and the West Bank, Netanyahu is now expanding his war to Lebanon. First massive bombings that killed over 700 people and injured thousands within 10 days and now even a ground offensive. For the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, 6 entire apartment blocks were pulverized, leaving hundreds more dead…” Editorial inVitamin C from October 2nd, 2024  and other reports, including:
  • “KITA STRIKE
    Strike for relief – everyone knows that!
    A shudder went through the Senate and parents: an indefinite daycare strike among Berlin's own companies! But a court ruling thwarted the strike. For now.Why the educators are so angry can be briefly outlined: too few staff, lack of development discussions or time for documentation, ... the pedagogical demands can hardly be met. Teachers also went on strike over similar issues last year. (…) Expenditure has been stagnating for years, although investments are urgently needed. But instead of acknowledging this misery, educators and teachers are supposed to suffer the unacceptable conditions on their own. For the well-being of the children? But probably more so that the parents can work.We had to hear something similar during our strike in the hospital: the strike was excessive, we had to think about our patients! (…) Many parents, teachers and other colleagues in social professions experience the daily misery and support the strike. The social problems are getting worse in our society and this is the response of politicians and bosses: restricting the right to strike, racism, division and the call to tighten our belts ever more tightly. But the cause is neither strikers, nor migrants, nor the poor in our society - it is capitalism that exacerbates these problems!“
• Vitamin C from September 5th, 2024: What the AfD stands for – and what we need
  “After three years of miserable traffic light policy, many people are fed up. Nothing changes, the existing problems are getting worse, the wallet is getting emptier, the stress at work is getting bigger, foreign policy is getting more threatening and the rich are getting richer. The traffic lights and the CDU have only made the existing problems worse. The “bourgeois democratic” parties have really done everything they can to prove to voters that the same racist policies also exist in green, black, yellow or red, but without success…” Editorial inVitamin C from September 5th, 2024 and other reports, including:
  • And the countdown is on
    “We are taking big steps towards 2025 and that means – strike, strike, strike! The CFM colleagues want to fight for integration into the Charité and thus for entry into the public service collective agreement (TVÖD). There will also be a strike at Charité, Vivantes and Daughters, but for the continuation of the TVÖD itself. The CFM superiors in particular have made good use of the last few months to build up pressure on their colleagues, such as: B. in cleaning. In addition to empty promises from the Senate, the refusal to pay inflation compensation or unequal pay - all of this causes great anger!And it's exactly this anger that we have to use for our mobilization to show the bosses and politicians that it's no longer like this!! Let's use e.g. B. the works meeting on September 17th or the verdi general meeting on September 25th to network and exchange ideas…”
  • Do you notice something?
    “On January 1st, 2025: reduction in working hours. Great. From 39 it goes down to 38.5 hours a week. How are you supposed to notice this in everyday life? Leave 6 minutes earlier every day? Who watches the clock that closely? Leave half an hour early one day? Particularly difficult in shift work. Saving up the minutes until you have a day off together? It takes weeks. No matter what, it shows one thing. Reducing working hours in the collective agreement must really be worth it. So the next collective bargaining demands must include at least a 35-hour week and the classification of breaks as working hours.”
• Vitamin C from July 4, 2024: Government policy gives right-wing extremists flights of fancy 
  “Across Europe, right-wing extremist and extremely conservative parties have made gains. In France, where President Macron called new elections, Le Pen's racist Rassemblement National (RN) became the strongest force in the parliamentary elections and could form the next government after the second round. At the same time, there are many in France and Germany – last Saturday in EssenTens of thousands of people took to the streets against the incitement of the radical right. What is particularly dangerous is that working people in France and Germany are increasingly voting for RN or AfD. This has to do with the massive and well-deserved rejection of the ruling parties…” Editorial inVitamin C from July 4, 2024 and short news, including:
  • It's getting hot and there's ice cream
    “Again and again this summer: it's getting hot, maybe there's a little water and we're allowed to sweat understaffed and underpaid in the Charité and CFM. But who wants to complain: at least there's free ice cream (once a year?)! But the ice cream really has nothing to do with compensating for inflation!“
• Vitamin C from May 30, 2024: The choice of torture?
  “Next Sunday we can make a cross again. The EU election is also seen as a mood test for the traffic light government and the SPD, Greens and FDP are facing a (deserved) electoral defeat. The main beneficiaries of this will probably be right-wing forces that rely on agitation and division, while having no prospects to offer workers. On the left, the Wagenknecht party BSW has split off from the Left Party. What to choose…” Editorial inVitamin C from May 30, 2024  and short news, including:
  • Because of fair play
    “The poaching of foreign nursing staff is becoming increasingly blatant - the International Council of Nurses (ICN) reports devastating supply shortages for poorer peopleCountries, triggered by the poaching practices of rich countries, including Germany and the Charité. The fact that more staff in nursing is not possible should finally be doneIt is clear and better to invest in nursing training and better working conditions.”
  • Expressed precisely
    “On Care Day (May 12th) there were demonstrations in many cities for better working conditions in care. A participant in Halle aptly said: “We opened the doors to the devil when we let the business students into the clinics“.”
• Vitamin C from April 25, 2024: Israel bombed, Germany suppresses protest
  “As Israel's massacres look more and more like genocide, the German government maintains its unconditional support. Protests are generally defamed as anti-Semitic and kept down through intimidation, slander and police violence. The media, which recently reported on the large demonstrations in Israel against the right-wing extremist government there, can only see anti-Semitism in the solidarity with the victims of the ongoing hostilities. A new means is now being used in Berlin: Protesters are becoming the target of state sanctions directly in their workplace…” Editorial inVitamin C from April 25, 2024 
• Vitamin C from April 4, 2024: Germany supports the war – still!
  “The Israeli military fired on a clearly visible international aid convoy and killed seven staff members in its war against the people of the Gaza Strip. Government officials are now outdoing each other worldwide in “outrage”. German Foreign Minister Baerbock is calling for a “thorough investigation” and says something like this shouldn’t happen… But something like this happens every day in Gaza. The difference is that this time the foreign passports of the killed aid workers:were held inside the cameras. They came from the USA, Canada, Poland, Australia and Great Britain…” Editorial inVitamin C from April 4, 2024 and short news, including:
  • Strike, strike, strike
    “In Giessen-Marburg, colleagues fought for a wage increase of up to 15% and compensation for inflation. Clinic employees in Erlangen are on strikeService GmbH at the university clinic there are not in favor of any wage increase, but rather want to achieve an alignment with the TVL. In various AsklepiosClinics in the state of Brandenburg have colleagues on strike to bring about an alignment with the TVöD level. And we should also prepare slowly. The CFM house tariff ends, the next TVöD round is coming up and the collective agreement on relief will probably have to be defended by 2026 at the latest. Time to pull yourself together and get organized.”
• Vitamin C from March 7th, 2024: Butter instead of guns!
  “Two years ago, the horror of war began for the people of Ukraine with the invasion of Russian troops, the end of which is still not in sight. Even worse than the war in Ukraine, which is geographically closer to us, is the horror in Gaza. This war, which is also directed against a civilian population, has escalated further... and was brought into the spotlight during the Berlinale…” And other short news inVitamin C from March 7, 2024 

• Vitamin C from February 8, 2024: No to the AfD, the government is bad enough!
  “Last Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Berlin to protest against the AfD with, among other things, the slogan “We are the firewall”. There were further demonstrations in many other places across Germany. Many speakers at the Berlin rally also accused the ruling parties that are responsible for the current situation. (…) The migrants are our colleagues! They want to work and work here - often without a work permit because the German bureaucracy puts hurdles in their way. But that is also intentional, because it means they have less rights and can be exploited even more - they are welcome as cheap labor. Let’s face it, this harassment doesn’t stop with the migrants. Everyone else also gets pressure and even more pressure to get as many jobs as possibleaccept people who are paid too low and, in addition to exploitation, also cause poverty in old age. (…)This injustice is unbearable – many people are angry, in the countryside as well as in the cities. This can be seen in the strikes of the last few weeks (on buses and trains, at airports and in the Jewish Hospital) and the farmers' protests. And it will be shown again in the upcoming elections. That's why top politicians are now trying to exploit the demonstrations for their own benefit, while ignoring the concerns of people elsewhere…” And other short news inVitamin C from February 8, 2024 
• Vitamin C from January 11, 2024: Protests are having an effect
  “Strike on the railway, tractors blocking roads... The government is facing a lot of headwind these days, after all the railway company is state-owned. The farmers' protests are directed against the part of the government's cuts plans that affect agriculture. But there are many more reasons to rebel against the cuts. And the railway employees' demand: relief through shorter working hours with higher wages is something that all workers can achievemake it your own! (…) What the state spends money on and what it doesn't spend money on is always a question of political will and the balance of power, not dictated by any accounting. If the billions in profits and the assets of major shareholders were consistently taxed internally, there would be no deficits at all.After some arguments in recent weeks and months, the government has agreed on a strike list. Savings are made when it comes to environmental and climate protection. Various measures will lead to energy prices for all of us in the nextwill rise significantly again this year - but there is no climate money to relieve the burden as announced in the coalition agreement. There will be cuts in citizens' benefits for the unemployed and tougher sanctions if you don't take every job.So once again savings should be made at the expense of those in need. Let's take matters into our own hands!..” And other posts inVitamin C from January 11, 2024 
• Vitamin C from December 7th, 2023: Who should pay for the “billion dollar hole”? 
  “Since the Federal Constitutional Court's decision in Karlsruhe in mid-November, politicians have been indicating more and more clearly: we will have to pay for the billion-dollar hole in the federal budget. Why actually? (…) According to Lindner and the federal government, everything revolves around the debt brake: specifically, how much debt the state can borrow. But that is a false debate. The real question is whether they will manage to end up presenting us with the bill we are supposed to pay. The strikes for better wages, which have been going on for months, are an important means by which we can defend ourselves. The Greens' claim that they are in favor of increasing the minimum wage despite the crisis is hypocrisy and tactics..” And more posts inVitamin C from December 7th, 2023 
• Vitamin C from November 9th, 2023: War in Palestine: Where is humanity? 
  “Thousands of people have now been killed in the bombing of Gaza and the Israeli army's ground offensive, including almost 4,000 children, according to the UN children's fund Unicef. And the killing continues, in full view of the world. A humanitarian catastrophe is taking place in Gaza, sparking outrage and solidarity with Palestinians around the world…” And other posts inVitamin C from November 9th, 2023 
• Vitamin C from October 5, 2023: Is migration the problem? 
  “Migration has been the favorite topic of politics for a few weeks now. With his sentence about the migrants who supposedly have their teeth remade while “the German citizens” cannot get an appointment, the CDU man Merz is adapting to the racism of the AfD. Even Chancellor Scholz (SPD) shares the opinion that the number of refugees is too high. The migrants actually have nothing to do with the shortage everywhere. The healthcare sector has been under austerity for years. The government is currently planning further cuts in the federal budget (just not in military spending). There are also cuts in local authorities everywhere. The situation in the social sector is catastrophic. It's not for nothing that social workers are demonstrating for more money for young people! There is a huge shortage of teachers in schools. They have been on strike in Berlin against overcrowded classes for months. The lack of apartments everywhere is also a homegrown problem: rental sharks can be very “German”! The complaints of the mayors of the municipalities that the reception of migrants is intolerable is no less hypocritical. (…) Wage earners like all of us. Migrants who have no chance of obtaining residency rights or whose asylum application has been rejected immediately start working illegally. They have no choice and have to survive with two or three jobs. From the outset, they are not a burden for the economy, but rather oil in the wheels. They have less accessHealth benefits. Even if they get a residence permit, they are more likely to do the most difficult tasks. In everyday work and inStrikes, we are allies!…” And other posts inVitamin C from October 5, 2023 
• Vitamin C from August 31, 2023: The economy and climate are making billions loose: for whom? 
  “Free-roaming lions in Berlin actually point to the famous summer slump. But it doesn't exist, this quiet holiday summer time. The business pages talk about the sick German economy and federal and state politics are overflowing with promises to give certain industrial sectors a lot of help. “Economic location” and climate protection are used as a moral pretext to funnel billions to corporations and into the pockets of the rich…” and other topics inVitamin C from August 31, 2023 
• Vitamin C from June 15, 2023: What do climate glue and strikers have in common? 
  “For weeks, large sections of politics and the media have been conjuring up a left-wing danger. First the climate activists of the “last generation”, who are being persecuted as a “criminal organization”, then the verdict against Lina E. and the subsequent protests in Leipzig. The reporting is such that one should shudder and turn away from the “chaoters” and “riot makers”. But it is a coincidence that not only left-wing protests are criminalized and persecuted, but also strikescourt is brought?…”Vitamin C from June 15, 2023 
• Vitamin C from May 25, 2023: CDU – Club of German Entrepreneurs 
  “The new Berlin Senate under Kai Wegener (CDU) and former mayor Giffey (SPD) wants to show strength - especially against protesters. As a reminder: only 29% of those eligible to vote in Berlin voted for one of these “grand coalition” parties in February. 37%, however, did not take part in the election at all. But now it is being acted as if this Senate corresponds to “the will of the voters”.…”Vitamin C from May 25, 2023 and other articles therein, including:
  • “The dream of the four day week
    Could come true at the Bielefeld Clinic. But wait, it's not a reduction in working hours with full wage compensation, people should still scrub for 40 hoursgo – just in 4 days instead of 5. Phew, is this the relief we need? Probably not. But before you complain that we don't have enough for a 4-day week in care - how many colleagues are already working part-time because they can't manage the workload? And how many new colleagues could we gain with someone like that?“attractive” working time model? In any case, this measure would be a thousand times better than the disdainful Charité advertising posters.”
  • “Ballot vote?
    The conclusion is over, the 2023 TVÖD round is over. In a non-binding vote, around two thirds expressed their agreement with the result. However, only around 22% of eligible ver.di members nationwide took part in the survey. There is a lot of dissatisfaction with the result, especially at the affected Berlin clinics. The question remains, if there were a binding ballot to accept the offer or the initiation of an indefinite strike, there would be a different level of approval in addition to a higher level of participationcame out?“
• Vitamin C from April 27, 2023: How arbitration destroys strike dynamics 
  “For months, hundreds of thousands of employees across Germany have taken part in warning strikes by the federal and local public services. Over 2.5 million employees are affected by the TVÖD collective agreement. On the night of April 23rd, an agreement was announced that essentially corresponded to the result of an arbitration procedure that slowed down the strikes from April 6th. There is a clear sense of disillusionment, especially among the employees of the Berlin clinics. Even before the last round of negotiations, there was a meeting in Berlin with 180 strike delegates, 80% of them rejected the arbitration result. In advance, the Berlin hospital movement, aware of its strength, had demanded a wage increase of 19% and at least 500 euros. After no offer was made in the first round of negotiations, the bosses then gave the employees a resounding slap in the face. What was offered was: a wage increase of 5% in two steps, garnished with 2 one-off payments totaling 2,500 euros. This is with a contract term of 27 months. The warning strikes were intensified, but there were still individual strike days, which are strenuous and difficult to organize, especially in hospitals…”Vitamin C from April 27, 2023 and other contributions including:
  • Arbitration – On Ar...
    “Well, the arbitration talks didn't take place that far away, but the federal/VKA and ver.di/dbb commissions met in the middle of nowhere in Mecklenburg. This location may not have been a coincidence, as the entire arbitration agreement is aimed precisely at interrupting the dynamics of a labor dispute, increasing pressure on the strikers and separating the negotiators from the strikers. That's why this place, that's why the commandment not to let any information leak out. And so some ver.di commission members understandably complained of feeling totally insecure and missing consultation with their active colleagues. So that we and no collective bargaining committee end up in such a situation again: terminate the arbitration agreement.”
• Vitamin C from March 30, 2023: First a mega strike and then...? 
  “On Monday, hundreds of thousands of public sector workers went on strike and, together with 35,000 striking railway colleagues, paralyzed parts of local transport and all long-distance transport. Ver.di and EVG (Railway and Transport Union) had called for a strike. Ver.di demands at least 500 euros and EVG 650 euros more, with a term of one year. Given the high inflation that...Food + 21%, heating oil + 37% and natural gas + 55%, this is more than justified…” This and other posts inVitamin C from March 30, 2023 
• Vitamin C from March 2nd, 2023: How can we end this war? 
  “When Putin sent his tanks towards the Ukrainian capital on February 24, 2022, he brought the war back to the center of Europe. Putin probably hoped to suddenly replace Ukrainian President Zelensky with a puppet in his thrall. Instead, he has helped rally the Ukrainian population behind Zelensky, even though he represents the interests of corrupt Ukrainian oligarchs and not those of the population…” And other posts inVitamin C from March 2nd, 2023 
• Vitamin C from February 8th, 2023: We have a choice? To join the strikes 
  “You can clearly feel it these days. You are not alone in your worries about the skyrocketing costs of rent, food and energy. Or the worry that you will no longer be able to cope with the demands of work, that you will collapse under the strain