Labor & Employment Law

Wall Street Journal Profiles Calif. Nurses? Political Success

By Mike Hall

The California Nurses Association?s (CNA’s) summer and fall battle to defeat Meg ?Wall Street? Whitman?s bid for the California governorship and elect Jerry Brown, got the attention of the Wall Street Journal.

In a recent profile, the Bible of business news called the CNA, “One of California’s most powerful political players.”

The CNA isn’t one of the biggest unions, but is considered one of the more effective. Its tactics are high-profile and often theatrical, with the union typically directing nurses to hound politicians. For example, CNA conceived the idea of hiring an actress to portray Ms. Whitman as ?Queen Meg,? and to show up at campaign appearances around the state to parody her as monarchal.

Across California, members of the California Labor Federation successfully exposed the lies and hypocricy of  Whitman and former Hewlett Packer CEO Carly Fiorina, another corporate-backed candidate, who lost her bid to replace Sen. Barbara Boxer. The state federation launched a TV ad urging Californians to ?Protect Yourself from a Meg Moment? by voting and used Whitman?s own words to expose her failure to vote for much of her adult life, while at the same time urging people to get to the polls.

Now that the election is over, CNA leaders told the Journal?s Jim Carlton that they are looking forward to working with Brown, but will ?fight for our agenda? which includes improved working conditions for nurses and improving the state?s health care system.  CNA Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro says she is hopeful about working with Brown    

Although we fully understand that there are no ‘political messiahs’ who can right all wrongs, we also know that Jerry Brown is a seasoned, compassionate intellectual with undeniable leadership qualities

Click here to read the full article.

Click here for a look at the CNA from Time.com and here for a profile from Bloomberg Businessweek.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on November 19, 2010 (boomark / email).