Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1521816
42 » RNs in Motion Professional Organization and RN Union HOW WE ARE ORGANIZED DEPARTMENTS 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. Labor representatives assist nurses represented by CNA under collectively bargained contracts, working closely with nurse representatives/shop stewards and union committees in the facility on contract negotiations and compliance. Nurse Representative/Shop Steward Councils that exist in each facility are essential for building and maintaining the highest standards of RN practice and workplace conditions. Organizing Record numbers of RNs across the nation are organizing due to the attacks on patient care standards and lack of voice in decisions affecting their practice and their patients. The more RNs NNU represents, the more effectively we can fight to improve patient care standards. Our organizing staff brings the diversity and skill of their years of experience from other labor unions, community, and consumer action campaigns, 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 Legislative/Regulatory Committee, composed of RN members, guides the work of the department, which consists of legislative specialists and RN lobbyists in our state capitals and in 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, NNOC and NNU are 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 negotiating 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 California Nurses Association (CNA). This legislation serves as a model for workplace violence prevention legislation that NNU sponsors at the federal level. Safe Staffing — For 13 years, CNA fought for safe RN-to- patient ratios, eventually winning first-in-the-nation legislation in California. NNU continues to fight for a federal staffing law that would require safe nurse-to- patient ratios and other safety measures in hospitals nationally, such as zero-lift policies. Infectious Diseases — Successes include countless improvements in our facilities, from safer personal protective equipment (PPE) standards to paid leave following an exposure. From the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, NNOC and NNU have been active at the national level, advocating that OSHA and the CDC promulgate strong protections. At the facility level, NNOC members continue to win collective bargaining agreements across the country with strong infectious disease protections. Nursing Practice and Patient Advocacy Nursing practice provides continuing education programs and monitors professional practice issues and trends affecting bedside RNs. The department is a resource for the contract-mandated Professional Practice Committees (PPCs) in each facility to ensure that nursing practice laws and patient advocacy regulations are observed. The RN-member Joint Nursing Practice Commission makes policy recommendations to the Board of Directors on nursing practice issues. National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) is a professional organization and a labor union that brings together the best attributes of both. For most RNs, their first exposure to NNOC is with our more traditional union work, when nurses vote to join and then negotiate a first contract, working with our top-notch organizing and collective-bargaining staff. As a multipurpose organization, our strength lies in our ability to coordinate our collective bargaining, legislative work, nursing practice, research, and education on behalf of our patient advocacy in our facilities and in the greater society.