National Nurses United

California Nurses Association (CNA) has gone through significant changes since 1993, the year that direct-care RNs took charge and, for the first time in the organization's 100-plus year history, elected a staff nurse majority on the board of directors. Until that time, staff nurses, who made up 90 percent of the membership, held only one seat on the 15-mem- ber board of directors, while the other 14 seats were held by nurse managers and administrators. At the time, membership stood at approximately 18,000, centered primarily in Northern California. The staff nurse slate ran on a platform of collec- tive patient advocacy, which has been a guiding principle of the organization ever since. As patient care and RN professional practice continues to be attacked under a profit-driven corporate health care system, this principle has become more important than ever in organizing, negotiating, and defending safe staffing practices, and addressing the growing public health care crisis. Membership quadrupled in the period from 1993 to 2007, defying the national trend of declining union numbers. The organization went national in 2004 and the following year 1,800 RNs from Cook County Bureau of Health Services in Illinois voted to join, becoming the first National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) bargaining unit. In 2009, CNA/NNOC helped form the most active progressive organization of RNs in the United States — National Nurses United (NNU). The union's staff supports nurses in multiple ways through the following departments and programs: Collective Bargaining: Organize, Represent, and Negotiate Collective bargaining provides the legal authority and power to engage in patient advocacy actions on a collective basis with a unified RN voice. CNA/NNU labor representatives assist nurses represented by collective bargaining contracts, working closely with nurse representatives/shop stewards and union committees in the facility on contract negotiations and compliance. Nurse Representative/Shop Stew- ard Councils that exist in each facility are essential for building and maintaining the highest standards of RN practice and workplace conditions. Record numbers of RNs across the nation are organizing due to the attacks on patient care stan- dards and lack of voice in decisions affecting our practice and our patients. The more RNs CNA/NNU represents, the more effectively we can fight to improve patient care standards. Our organizing staff bring the diversity and skill of their years of experience from other labor unions, community organizing, and consumer action cam- paigns, resulting in the most successful organizing program in the country. Legislative Advocacy/Government Relations Government Relations oversees legislative and regulatory issues affecting RN licensure, practice, staffing, and the health care delivery system. The CNA/NNU member-composed Legislative/Regula- tory Committee guides the work of the department that consists of legislative specialists and RN lobbyists in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. A political action committee, consisting of members and staff, screens and endorses candidates running for office based on their positions on patient advocacy, workplace safety, and women's and workers' rights. Health and Safety As the country's largest and most powerful union of registered nurses, CNA/NNU is committed to protecting nurses from workplace injuries and illnesses. Our Health and Safety department plays a leadership role in safeguarding the health and safety of RNs by sponsoring state and federal legislation, participating in the rulemaking process, and negoti- ating strong contract protections in areas such as: Workplace Violence — In 2018, California nurses celebrated the strongest state workplace violence protections to take effect in the country — thanks to legislation won by CNA/NNU. The enforcement campaign for the California Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care Standard is ongoing, and the Health and Safety Division pro- vides continuing education classes, workshops, and materials to assist nurses in learning and enforcing the standard to improve safety in our facilities. Safe Staffing — For 13 years, CNA fought for safe nurse-to-patient ratios, eventually winning first-in- the-nation legislation in California. NNU continues to fight for a federal registered nurse-to-patient safe staffing law that would protect nurses and patients across the nation. How We Are Organized Professional Association and RN Union 14 RNs in Motion

• Cover