Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1477982
18 CNA/NNU 101 » Organizing with CNA/NNU CASE STUDIES IN COLLECTIVE ACTION EXAMPLES OF ORGANIZED CNA FACILITIES Our ability to provide safe, thera- peutic, and effective patient care depends on reversing the trend of inadequate hospital staffing driven by corporate health care that is putting patients at risk and is forcing nurses out of the profession. Our contracts provide nurses with a voice in patient-care decisions, which we use to create safer health care facilities to protect our patients and our licenses. PROTECTING PATIENTS AND NURSES THROUGH UNITY "Nurses at Good Samaritan used our collective power to bring HCA management to the table to address critical short staffing issues. We won a 10 percent wage increase to address recruitment and retention and a commitment to posting and hiring 80 new RN positions across the hospital. It was through our strength as union nurses that we were able to secure these significant victories for our ourselves and our patients and demand the respect that we deserve as dedicated patient care advocates." — Stephanie Landry, RN Good Samaritan Hospital San Jose, Calif. STANDING UP FOR OUR PROFESSION AND OUR PATIENTS "My first experience at the bargaining table was eye-opening. I got to see that management was unwilling to give us a fair contract. So we took action, starting with buttons and stickers, and began to build strong internal unity and eventually, overwhelming support. When we took our message outside with an informational picket, we were empowered by the number of nurses who participated. By the time we voted to authorize the bargaining team to call a strike, the mere threat of a strike made management move. Because of our unity and collective actions, we won a strong contract that will attract and retain nurses while protecting our patients and our core values." — John Olarte, RN West Anaheim Medical Center Anaheim, Calif. Organizing with CNA/NNU »