Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1477982
8 CNA/NNU 101 ยป What is CNA/NNU? Nurses applaud the intro- duction of the Medicare for All Act of 2021, H.R. 1976, introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and cosponsored by more than half of the House Democratic Caucus including 14 committee chairs and key leadership members. The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (Rep. Joe Courtney, CT-2) is reintro- duced in the U.S. House in February and passes in April, a big win for nurses. In 2021, NNU conducts two national surveys of more than 14,000 RNs total, one revealing that employers are still failing to provide safe staffing, optimal PPE, and testing, and the other showing that employers must do more to be fully compliant with the OSHA Covid-19 Health Care ETS. In April, all California hospitals must comply with A.B. 2537, requiring a three-month stockpile of PPE to protect employees and patients. A federal ratios bill, sponsored by NNU and based on California's mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios law, is reintroduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown in the Senate and Rep. Jan Schakowsky in the House. NNU nurses fought for and won the landmark U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Covid-19 Health Care Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), the first enforce- able national Covid-19 standard to protect their union and nonunion colleagues and patients across the country. In July, RNs at more than 24 facilities hold actions across the country to demand that employers address problems high- lighted by the Covid-19 pandemic and prioritize patient safety and work- place protections. Some 10,000 RNs at 18 HCA hospitals in six states ratified new contracts that included landmark health and safety lan- guage and many other improvements. More than 14,000 RNs in California and Nevada ratify a four-year contract with Dignity Health that features stronger infec- tious disease prevention measures for nurses and patients. More than 500 RNs in Monterey County, Calif. vote to join CNA/NNU. CNA/NNU sponsors and wins A.B. 1407, landmark legislation to require implicit bias education and training for nursing students and new graduates in California, an important step in addressing persistent racial disparities in health care. RNs at Doctors Hospital of Manteca in Manteca, Calif. vote by 94 percent to affiliate with CNA/NNU, joining more than 5,300 nurses at 13 Tenet facilities in Arizona and California. 21,000 RNs at 21 Kaiser facilities in Northern California hold a one-day sympathy strike in solidar- ity with IUOE Stationary Engineers, Local 39. X 2022 In January, CNA/NNU nurses across the country held actions across the country to demand the hospital industry invest in safe staffing and to demand that President Biden follow through on his campaign promise to protect nurses and prioritize public health. The CalCare bill (A.B. 1400) passed the Assembly health and appropriations commit- tees but ultimately did not garner a floor vote. Nurses and fellow health care activists vowed to redouble their organizing efforts to win a single- payer health system in California. In April, more than 8,000 RNs and health care work- ers at 15 Sutter Health facilities in Northern California hold a one-day strike for safe staffing and health and safety. In May, NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo, RN, testifies in support of Medicare for All before U.S. Senate budget com- mittee and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduces the bill in the Senate. RNs applaud reintroduc- tion of the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).