National Nurses United

broader labor movement. So for me…this feels like I'm coming home." "Nurses are stronger when we work collectively," said Bonnie Cas- tillo, RN and executive director of National Nurses United. "Our sol- idarity is what makes it possible to challenge injustice and inequity in our workplaces and in the health of our society. We could not be more proud to now be fighting this fight alongside New York nurses." NYSNA Second Vice President Marion Enright, RN, of Nathan Littauer Hospital, said, "Working in a hospital in a rural area of New York State that once had low union density, I know firsthand how building union power helps nurses win better conditions and advocate more effectively for their patients. Together, NYSNA and NNU have the power to fix our broken health care system, pro- tect our patients, and put an end to the staffing crisis." "As one big union, we will be more successful because we will have strength in numbers, and we will have the loudest voice ever," said Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, RN and an NNU president. "NYSNA has been known for their…elegant militancy, just like the nurses in NNU. We will be able to fight together for all the issues that we have been fighting for: social jus- tice, Medicare for All, and equality overall." NYSNA Secretary Nella Pineda-Marcon, RN of Mount Sinai Morningside said, "NYSNA and NNU share the goal of transforming our health care system so that it puts patients over profits and delivers quality care to all. We are also committed to address and heal the broader social, economic, racial, and climate injustices that fuel illness in our patients and society." "I am so elated and excited to have NYSNA as part of the NNU family," said Cathy Kennedy, RN and a president of California Nurses Association, an NNU affiliate. "This just makes us stronger. We are determined to have nurse-to-patient ratios across this nation along with workplace violence prevention protections so that they're no different in California than they are in New York or Mississippi." NNU's other affiliate nursing organizations include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, Dis- trict of Columbia Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, and Minnesota Nurses Association, which engaged in the largest nurses strike in U.S. history in September. Chuleenan Svetvilas is a communications specialist at National Nurses United. Nancy Hagans, RN, NYSNA President [When] I was a new nurse…I wanted to go to the surgical intensive care unit. When I went for my interview, the manager said to me, "Well I only need you for nights. I don't need you for days." I said, "No, I want to go on the day shift." It was the early '90s, but the black and brown nurses worked nights, and the other nurses worked days. So I said, "I read the contract, you cannot deny me." So when I started working there…whatever I did wasn't good enough because I challenged them. So I decided to call a meeting with her boss, my union rep …I kept a log of everything that she did to me. Then when we met, I started saying that she made me work extra weekends, things that I should not do. I said, "I'm going to file a lawsuit against the hospital." Then when I was done, my rep said, "You should be a delegate." So that's how I started…and I never looked back." Dr. Judith Cutchin, RN, NYSNA First Vice President I am a registered nurse for over 33 years…I've been a NYSNA member as long as I've been a nurse and always been very active. I grew up in a family where every- body was activists. So I was born into it. I love to help people and especially when things are happening. We have so much gun violence. We have domestic violence. We have maternal deaths. I'm not shy at all. [I let people] know that "Hey look, I am a voice for you and I'm going to fight for you." I really spent a lot of time educating in the emergency room, educating patients and trying to keep them well and trying to keep them out of the emergency room, even when it came to patients with gun violence. I just obtained [my doctor of nursing practice] in August … My call[ing] is…to educate nurses, to improve health care, espe- cially in public health where patients don't receive the same care as the private sector because of the health care disparities, socio- economics, and those issues that need to be addressed. Patricia Kane, RN, NYSNA Executive Director In my career, I've worked in nonunion facilities as well as union facilities until I became a member of [NYSNA]. And there was a big difference in work rules, over- time. Even getting a job in New York, a lot depended on who you know, what you look like. And being part of a union made all the difference in the world to me as a regis- tered nurse: to my professional practice, to my work life, to my family life, and having that work-life balance and really being able to not only advance professionally, but per- sonally become part of a movement to make the world a better place. I don't think that's overstating it. The thing that got me involved in the union was dissatisfaction with something that happened at work. I went to the NYSNA representative and started talking to her. And she was a great organizer and she said, "Well, if you want to change that, you have to become involved. That's really what you have to do." And I became involved. 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 2 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 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 15 Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, RN Jean Ross, RN Deborah Burger, RN Cathy Kennedy, RN

• Cover