National Nurses United

have a flex issue going on, so we made flyers about that. If we have wins, we make a flyer and have it at our conference rooms and put it on each unit's bulletin board." Rounding before each monthly PPC meeting is also a critical part of outreach. "By rounding and making our presence known in the hospital, being on the floor, we show our nonunion brothers and sisters that we're doing the work," says Vanessa Villareal, RN and chair of the PPC at ASMCA. "It makes them want to be involved. People see our faces and get to know us. Our coworkers know we are there for them." Their deep commitment to their cowork- ers, hospital, and community has resulted in more nurses coming to work at ASMCA because it is a union hospital. "We have to fight for everything, but our patients and coworkers deserve a better workplace," said Villareal. "We try to be positive and lift each other up." UCLA's seat at the table at the santa monica campus of UCLA Medical Center, tabling and rounding are a routine part of each PPC meeting, which starts at 8 a.m. on the second Monday of every month. This PPC has been operating for more than 15 years. PPC members are on hand from 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. to catch night-shift RNs as they are leaving and day- shift nurses as they arrive. All 25 nurse representatives at UCLA Santa Monica also serve on the PPC. Depending on the weather, PPC members will staff tables outside one of the entrances or inside by the cafeteria, distrib- uting education and news about what's going on at the facility or letting nurses know about upcoming union actions. If there are no active campaigns, the tables will have information about nurses' rights, such as what is an ADO, what to do if called to a meeting with management, and more. Labor representatives and as many PPC members/nurse reps as possible will also be at the tables. The nurse leaders let members in their units know when tabling and monthly town halls meetings are happening. "For my unit, I have a WhatsApp group where I share info and people can post info with the group," says Delmarty, who has represented the pediatrics unit on the PPC since 2013, including serving as PPC chair for about five years. "We rely on nurse reps to make sure everyone knows what's going on." "Nurses stop by and pick up whatever information they need to know and can ask questions," said Delmarty, who also became chief nurse rep and a CNA/NNNOC board member in 2023. "We let people know we're there for you." Tabling happens at least once a month but depending on what's going on, the PPC also organizes additional pop-up tabling sessions, especially at critical times, such as during contract negotiations and strike votes. This year UC nurses are entering into contract negotiations so upcoming tabling sessions will include a member survey on what nurses want to focus on in contract negotiations. Additional events usually happen in the early morning or evening but they have also tabled during lunch time. During Nurses Week this year, the PPC also tabled twice to create even more opportunities to connect with coworkers. The last hour of the PPC meeting, PPC members/nurse reps round various units across the hospital. They leave information in the break rooms and nurses are free to ask questions. They will go to different units, such as the ER, and drop off informa- tion to the nurses who could not come. "We put in the work to develop trust with nurses, like the trust between nurses and patients," says Delmarty. "Our patients trust us to speak up for them and to keep them safe. We're doing that with our nurses." Chuleenan Svetvilas is a communications specialist at National Nurses United. 16 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 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 A P R I L | M AY | J U N E 2 0 2 5 Special events For Nurses Week this year, the Professional Practice Committee at Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin planned a series of events that took place from Tuesday through Saturday (May 6 to May 10). The first day began with PPC members sitting in the lobby at shift change, offering bagels, donuts, coffee, and energy drinks and getting the word out about all the planned events. Each day had a unique theme, taking place at different times to reach as many nurses as possible, featuring different foods—from cookies on Wednesday and dinner on Thursday to an ice cream social on Friday and brunch on Saturday. There was also a raffle for members to win a basket of goods with items from local merchants and union swag. "The goal for us was to show people that we as a union can really create amazing and fun things," says Kittleson. "People really took to that and expressed a lot of gratitude. It gave us a chance to do a lot of outreach for our PPC." The result was high union visibility and many new members, a resounding success. From left: Ascension Seton Medical Center PPC members; UCLA nurses tabling during Nurses Week

• Cover