National Nurses United

Like Drummond, this was RN Kristine Kittelson's first time at a CNA/NNOC convention. Kittelson, who's currently helping bargain the union's first contract at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Aus- tin, Texas, took the stage with Drummond to discuss the power she felt joining the union and becoming a leader. "Going to this convention was a powerful reminder of what our movement of union nurses is fighting for—not just in our country, but all around the world," Kittelson reflected a couple of weeks after the convention, referencing the group of approximately 200 nurses who arrived from countries as far away as New Zealand and India, as part of the Global Nurses United meeting. "It's not just about changing the culture of our individual facilities, but also changing the profession as a whole." For anyone at the convention not yet acquainted with CNA/NNOC's principled commitment to taking back the nursing profession from managers and executives, they got a taste of it when outgoing CNA/NNOC President Zenei Triunfo-Cortez and incom- ing president Michelle Gutierrez Vo took the microphone one morning. Their stories of fighting back—and winning—against Kaiser Permanente emphasized the flawed promises of labor-man- agement partnerships. Triunfo-Cortez recounted how she and other CNA members mounted an epic campaign against the health care giant when it announced it would close its Oakland campus in 1996. This was unacceptable to RNs. Because Oakland is a very racially diverse, working-class city with relatively high health needs, Triunfo-Cortez explained, the hospital's closure would harm the community. In an epic fight, she described how—with patients, hospital staff, church groups, and patients—nurses held rallies, hosted town halls, and attended council meetings, escalating their campaign over the course of two years. Then CNA filed a lawsuit against Kaiser alleging medical redlining, backed up by the facts collected through exten- sive research and patient testimonies. It was this incredible pressure that finally resulted in Kaiser announcing it would keep the hospital open. More than two decades later, following a catastrophic pandemic that revealed how little Kaiser cared for its nurses and health care workers, 22,000 CNA nurses won a historic contract. Gutierrez Vo explained it took an entire year of preparation, of intense organiz- ing, and of strategic escalation. "By the time we issued a 10-day notice to strike with 22,000 nurses, Kaiser management was terrified," Gutierrez Vo explained, and of course, a few days before the strike was set to begin, Kaiser caved and nurses won. Their stories of challenging Kaiser Permanente—eschewing other unions' model of compromise with hospital employers— underscore the power of nurses embracing militancy instead. These victories, even though more than two decades apart, had an important thing in common: a refusal to let hospitals abandon our communities and degrade care to make money. As Triunfo-Cortez reflected, "In these fights, we reinforced our partnership with our patients, our communities, and the public. And this wisdom enabled us to take a historic stance against the idea of labor-man- agement partnerships in the face of contract takeaways." It's this wisdom that has allowed the union to grow in numbers and in strength, to win battles at the facility level, in the halls of government, and beyond. Stories like Marlene Tucay's, an RN at the University of California Irvine Medical Center (UCIMC), poig- nantly captured the benefits of being a union nurse: in addition to improving the longevity and sustainability of a nursing career, it gives members tools and resources to make the world a better place for all of us. Tucay described how she and other nurses at UCIMC rallied together in support and defense of one of their transgender union sisters who was a target of discrimination by manage- ment. On stage, she shared the letter of gratitude her colleague sent after nurses worked to ensure that justice prevailed and this manager was fired. The 3,000 CNA/NNOC nurses in the room stood up in a standing ovation. The emotion was raw and it was palpable. Helena Johnson, an RN at HCA Osceola in Kissimmee, Fla., thought that was a powerful lesson for members to take away: "It was great to hear stories of nurses sticking with each other and sticking up for each other. It's important to me, as a Black woman, as an immigrant, as a mom, and a Catholic to stand up to disrespect when I see it. A work environment should always be safe." In that session, Tucay and other nurse leaders on stage, like Tri- unfo-Cortez and Marissa Lee, an RN and CNA/NNOC board member at HCA Florida Osceola Hospital shared the pain of being questioned and targeted simply because of their identities as women of color and as immigrant women. They also shared the empower- ment they felt when they stood up—with their union behind them—to the forces of racism and sexism. 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 3 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 21 Times "Going to this convention was a powerful reminder of what our movement of union nurses is fighting for— not just in our country, but all around the world. It's not just about changing the culture of our individual facilities, but also changing the profession as a whole."

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