National Nurses United

NATIONAL NURSE,™ (USPS publication permit number 0807-560/ISSN 2153- 0386 print/ISSN 2153-0394 online) The Voice of National Nurses United, October-November-December 2023 (Volume 119/4) is published by National Nurses United, 155 Grand Avenue, Oak- land, CA 94612-2908. It provides news of or ganizational activities and reports on developments of concern to all regis- tered nurses across the nation. It also carries general coverage and commen tary on matters of nursing practice, community and public health, and health care policy. It is published quarterly, with combined issues in January-February-March (win- ter), April-May-June (spring), July-August- September (summer), and October- November-December (fall). Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California. POSTMASTER: send address changes to National Nurse, ™ 155 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. To send a media release or announce- ment, fax (510) 663-0629. National Nurse™ is carried on the NNU website at www.nationalnursesunited.org. For permission to reprint articles, write to Editorial Office. To subscribe, send $40 ($45 foreign) to Subscription Department. Please contact us with your story ideas They can be about practice or manage- ment trends you've observed, or simply something new you've encountered in the profession. They can be about one nurse, unit, or hospital, or about the wider landscape of healthcare policy from an RN's perspective. They can be humorous, or a matter of life and death. If you're a writer and would like to contribute an article, please let us know. You can reach us at nationalnurse@nationalnursesunited.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR Bonnie Castillo, RN EDITOR Lucia Hwang GRAPHIC DESIGN Jonathan Wieder COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Sarah Cecile CONTRIBUTORS Rachel Berger, Lucy Diavolo, Amelia Dornbush, Michelle Morris, Chuleenan Svetvilas, Martha Wallner PHOTOGRAPHY Jaclyn Higgs, Tad Keyes, Choppy Oshiro national nurses United RNs sure know how to end the year on a high note. Looking back over this quar- ter, we are simply astonished by, gratified, and so, so proud of the number of vic- tories our nurses have won. On the organizing front, nurses in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and New Orleans have all recently voted to unionize — with private-sector nurses in the last two cities being the very first ones to do so. What a feat! On the bargaining front, nurses across the country have settled countless agreements while others are fighting mightily to win their first contracts, such as the Ascension nurses in Austin and Wichita. In pursuit of protections and better staffing and safety standards for themselves, their patients, and their commu- nities, many nurses have experienced another first, too: their very first time going out on strike! With the autoworkers, actors, and writers also staging massive strikes this year, we nurses are very much a part of the resurgence of labor activ- ity that is long overdue in this country. Let's keep it up. One of the ways we stay energized, inspired, and edu- cated is by gathering together to share and learn from one another. This year, many of our NNU affiliates held their annual conventions, with California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee con- vening in person for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began in order to celebrate that union's 120th anniversary. These were all truly amazing events and you can find more coverage in this issue. Lastly, we want to call your attention to a new report that NNU recently released that shows Ascension, one of the largest Catholic hospital chains in the United States and with which many of our nurses are battling for a first con- tract, has abandoned its nonprofit and religious mission to serve poor and vulnerable patients by cutting more than 26 percent of its obstetric departments across the country. And these units are disappearing in predominantly lower- income, urban communities of color where Ascension dominates the hospital market. You can read all about it in this issue. The end of the year is always a time for reflection, and we want to take this opportunity to marvel at all the amaz- ing work we nurses achieve in solidarity together: in our workplaces, in our home lives, and in our communities. Thank you for all that you do, each and every day. Deborah Burger, RN; Nancy Hagans, RN; Jean Ross, RN; Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, RN National Nurses United Presidents Letter from the NNU presidents Stay connected FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/NationalNurses TWITTER: @NationalNurses FLICKR: www.flickr.com/nationalnursesunited VIMEO: www.vimeo.com/NationalNursesUnited DIGITAL MAGAZINE: NationalNurseMagazine.org

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