Labor & Employment Law

Delegates to New RN Super Union Set for Convention

By Mike Hall

A new National Nurses United union is holding its founding convention Dec. 7-8 in Phoenix. The new union is a joint effort by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), the United American Nurses (UAN) and the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA).

The 150,000 RN super union was proposed earlier this year by the trio of nurses’ unions. The 23,000-member MNA approved the creation of the NNU in October. The 86,000-strong CNA/NNOC voted to join the super union in September.

Says UAN Secretary-Treasurer Jean Ross, RN:

It is long overdue for all staff nurses to join together nationally to tackle health care reform that works for everyone, safe nurse staffing levels and giving every unorganized nurse in this country who wants a union the chance to join one. None of these goals will be met without the cooperative work of staff nurses, and we can’t wait to get to work building on the good work UAN nurses have begun over the past decade.

MNA President Donna Kelly-Williams puts it this way:

With the formation of National Nurses United, we have a historic opportunity to create the largest union and most influential collective voice of registered nurses at a time when that voice is sorely needed. The MNA is proud to be a founding member of this new national movement of direct care RNs. We understand that this is a unique moment for nurses, a once in a lifetime opportunity to dramatically improve the lives of all nurses and patients and to transform the face of health care.

“This is truly a historic moment and I hope it sends chills down the backs of those employers who would want to keep us down,” says CNA/NNOC Co-President Deborah Burger, RN.

Among the new union’s goals are strengthening the ability of direct-care RNs to protect and improve patient care conditions and RN standards from coast to coast. It also will fight for federal legislation, including S. 1031?the National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act?modeled after the successful California law that established nurse-to-patient safety ratios.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on December 04, 2009 (boomark / email).