Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1531149
50 » RNs in Motion Professional Organization and RN Union HOW WE ARE ORGANIZED 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 organiza- tion'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-member board of directors, while the other 14 seats were held by nurse managers and adminis- trators. At the time, membership stood at approximately 18,000, centered primarily in Northern California. The staff nurse slate ran on a platform of collective 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 grew significantly from 1993 to 2007, defying the national trend of declining union numbers. CNA went national in 2004 and the next year 1,800 RNs from Cook County Bureau of Health Services in Illinois voted to join CNA's national counterpart, National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC). 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 collec- tive basis with a unified RN voice. CNA labor representa- tives 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 represen- tative/shop steward 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 standards and lack of voice in decisions affecting our practice and our patients. The more RNs CNA 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 campaigns, resulting in the most successful organizing program in the country. Legislative Advocacy/Government Relations Government Relations oversees legislative and regula- tory issues affecting RN licensure, practice, staffing, and the health care delivery system. CNA/NNOC and NNU both have member-composed Legislative/Regulatory Committees that guide the work of the department that consists of legislative specialists and RN lobbyists in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., respectively. 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 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 cele- brated the strongest state workplace violence protec- tions to take effect in the country — thanks to legislation won by CNA. The enforcement campaign for the California Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care Standard is ongoing, and the Health and Safety Division provides 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. Safe Patient Handling — CNA nurses sponsored land- mark state legislation that was signed into law in 2011 and provides the most comprehensive provisions in the country to prevent manual patient lifting to protect nurses from back and musculoskeletal injuries. Infectious Diseases — In 2014–15, CNA won a landmark mandatory Ebola guidance in California, and strong infectious disease protections in collective bargaining agreements across the country. During the Covid-19 pan- demic, CNA nurses have won countless improvements in our facilities, from safer personal protective equipment (PPE) standards to contact tracing and testing, to paid leave following an exposure, and more. CNA-sponsored legislation effective April 1, 2021 required California hospitals to maintain three-month stockpiles of new, unexpired PPE.