National Nurses United

4 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0 MINNESOTA O n nov. 18, Minnesota Nurses Association President Mary C. Turner, RN represented the nation's nurses during a round- table with President-elect Joe Biden and other frontline workers from the Service Employees International Union, the Inter- national Federation of Firefighters, and the American Federation of Teachers. Biden began the discussion by emphasiz- ing the importance of hearing from frontline workers firsthand and how vital their contri- butions have been during the unprecedented pandemic. "This crisis has shown the nation that we literally could not survive without you," he said. "You've always been essential, even if most of America hasn't learned that term until recently." Turner, an RN who works nights in the Covid ICU unit at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, Minn., spoke about the realities nurses face during this pan- demic, including dealing with limited supplies and staffing while publicly fighting for the resources they need. "As president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, I have been on multiple picket lines with health care workers who are protesting to get the PPE that they need and other protections," she told Biden during her remarks. "There is something seriously wrong when nurses have to take to the streets to beg for protection in the middle of a pandemic." She also gave an impassioned plea for what all frontline workers need from the fed- eral government and the next administration. "We know that we are facing immense death and suffering in the coming weeks, and we will be there," Turner said. "But we need to act now; we need to act quickly, to protect our health care workers so that we can save as many lives as possible." Visibly moved by her words, Biden shared about his own experience in the ICU and the strain he saw it cause nurses, even before they had to deal with a pandemic. He was also shocked to learn that, at the time of the round- table, Mary had never received a Covid-19 test from her hospital since the pandemic began. After the participants spoke about their experiences and answered his questions, Biden took a moment to thank all frontline workers and promised to fight as hard for them as they do for their communities. "As president, I'm going to fight as hard as I can, as hard as you're fighting for your communities," Biden said at the close of the roundtable. "And we're going to make sure that you get the personal protective equip- ment you need. We're going to make sure you have paid sick leave. We're going to make sure that you can care for your fami- lies . . . We're going to make sure we don't just praise you, but we actually pay you. And we're going to protect your right to collective bargaining and form a union. And we're going to lead a robust and aggressive effort to control the virus." News organizations across the country were also moved by Turner's comments dur- ing the roundtable and reached out to have her speak about her experience with Biden and at the frontlines of the pandemic. "For the first time, speaking with Presi- dent-elect Biden, I had hope," said Turner during her appearance on CNN's "Out Front" with Erin Burnett. "And with that came such an emotional release." —Amber Smigiel Watch the full roundtable here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6c1w kmunAc NEWS BRIEFS Minnesota nurses' president shares emotional moment with Biden At roundtable talk on Covid, ICU RN Mary Turner details her experiences

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