Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1540947
"A last-minute meeting had been called, and Linda was getting her hair done," recalled Ross. "She got on the phone with her hair drip- ping wet, so we had a majority, which helped form NNU." Hamilton, who passed away at home in Lake Spring Park, Minn., in July 2025, was a registered nurse, fierce union leader, and com- mitted health care activist with endless energy for fighting the good fight and enjoying life to its fullest. She had served in several union positions, including president of Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA), a director of United American Nurses (UAN), and a vice president of NNU. Her death was from pancreatic cancer. "Nurses trusted Linda. It was a no-brainer that she would be our representative for United American Nurses and then a vice pres- ident for NNU," said Ross, who met Hamilton about 30 years ago at an MNA rep meeting. "She had a strong sense of justice and was very, very generous with her time. She was extremely reliable. You don't come across people like Linda in life." Deeply dedicated to her pediatric patients and the nursing profession, Hamil- ton mentored countless RNs and advocated for nurses on all fronts, from collective bargaining contracts and nursing practice to the state capital and beyond. "She encouraged me to grow in the union and run for office," said Bernadine "Bunny" Engledorf, RN, former NNU vice president, and MNA board member. "Linda helped me realize that I could do that." Hamilton was a visionary who saw the value of a national union: Together with Ross, UAN's secretary-treasurer from 2006 to 2009, and two other UAN directors—Carolyn Hietamaki, RN of Michigan Nurses Association and Sandra Falwell, RN of District of Columbia Nurses Association, this quartet of nurses ensured that UAN would be part of NNU's founding convention in Phoenix. In December 2009, direct-care nurses from California Nurses Association/ National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), UAN, and others created a historic national RN super-union with more than 150,000 nurses across the country. NNU now has more than 225,000 members nationwide. Hamilton was not only a founding member of NNU, she served on its board for nearly a decade. UAN was the American Nurses Association's labor wing, which formed in 1999 and comprised several state nurses associations, sev- eral of which broke away from ANA, including Maine State Nurses Association (MSNA) in 2001 and Michigan Nurses Association and Minnesota Nurses Association in 2008. California Nurses Association cut ties with ANA in 1995 and formed National Nurses Organizing Committee in 2005 in response to an overwhelming demand by direct-care nurses outside of California. MSNA joined NNOC in 2006. National Nurses United would not exist if it weren't for Linda Hamilton, RN. Hamilton and Jean Ross, RN and former president of National Nurses United (2009–2023), were part of the quorum of directors of an organization of progressive nursing unions that voted to support joining NNU in 2009. Opposite: Linda Hamilton, RN (left) at the NNU founding convention in Phoenix. Below: (From left) Linda Hamilton, RN, Karen Higgins, RN, Deborah Burger, RN, Jean Ross, RN, and Rose Ann DeMoro.