National Nurses United

Caroline Hietamaki, RN, Maryland "Nurses are at the very root of health care and patient care. We are going to move and shake this healthcare situation, and change everything." regardless of what happens at the federal level. NNU board members met in late January to coordinate those efforts and share strategies, from phone-banking seniors to holding rallies at state capitols. "In this country, in order to move real, true healthcare reform, it's got to be all of us together, and it's got to start with the nurses, because only nurses know how it needs to be done," NNU co-president Jean Ross, RN, told nurses at the December convention. A unified nurse perspective on national health policy "could have a very big effect," said Sue Hassmiller, senior adviser for nursing at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a healthcare think tank. "Patient care is at stake and when you have people like lawyers and policymakers at the table, not to have the voice of nursing is a real missed opportunity," she said. "If there are one or two issues that nurses can really put their arms around and say this is what we stand for, that can go a long way." At the convention, NNU co-president Karen Higgins, RN of Massachusetts laid out a vision of a progressive nurses movement that can not only advocate on healthcare issues, but "stand shoulder to shoulder with other working people and American families for genuine social progress in our nation, to refuse to accept wide- spread joblessness, or hunger or poverty. As registered nurses we see every day the consequences of the economic crisis, the inequality, the disparities in wealth that are surely as destructive as a global pandemic." Many RNs who attended the convention said they'd been waiting their entire career for nurses to work together nationally. For two days, the event—part celebration, part business meeting—was punctuated with tears of joy. "I've been a nurse for 34 years and I've represented nurses in contract negotiations and I always felt something was missing," said RN Kris Michaelson of Michigan. "I needed more to feel I'd really accomplished something. And this is it. This is the legacy we pass on for nurses, for the women in this country. We are finally coming into our own." Besides electing Higgins, Burger and Ross as co-presidents, delegates to the convention named an executive director, Rose Ann DeMoro, the current CNA/NNOC executive director and one of the nation's most prominent voices on labor and healthcare. They heard from Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions president Linda Silas, RN about nurse organizing in Canada, and from retired nurses and nursing students about their experiences and their vision for the future of nursing. The convention was the culmination of years of struggle by direct-care nurses to take control of their practice, their organizations and their profession. Twenty years ago, most RNs were members of the American Nurses Association, a professional group controlled by nurse managers who weren't involved in day-to-day patient care and often put hospital profits before the needs of patients. But as hospitals across the country started cutting costs and laying off nurses in the 1980s and 1990s, nurses realized they needed to work aggressively and independently to protect them- FAQ on NNU National Nurse answers your questions about Why do nurses need a national RN super-union? Today's nurses practice in a healthcare system in crisis. Employers are reducing RN staffing and benefits, affecting nurses' ability to protect their patients. Meanwhile, an estimated 45,000 Americans die each year because they lack health insurance. With economic changes and new legislation promising to reshape the industry, RNs need a strong, united voice to effectively represent the interests of nurses and patients. National Nurses United will protect and enhance the gains in wages, pension and health benefits, and safe working conditions that nurses have made through collective bargaining, organizing unrepresented nurses to spread those 16 N AT I O N A L N U R S E achievements across the country. We will advocate for a single, excellent standard of healthcare for every American, regardless of ability to pay; win national patient-protection laws such as safe-staffing ratios and an end to mandatory overtime; and take back our profession so that every RN can advocate for patients without fear of retribution. Where do NNU members work? National Nurses United represents 150,000 nurses across the country, from California to Maine. Most NNU members work in acute-care hospitals, but many also practice in clinics, skilled nursing facilities, schools, and home health—anywhere and 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 everywhere that patients need care. National Nurses United has set up divisions so that RNs who work in similar environments—such as Catholic hospitals and university medical centers—can collaborate on shared concerns and goals. How is National Nurses United governed? National Nurses United is a democratic organization run by and for direct-care RNs. Every two years, members gather at a national convention and elect a board of directors—all working direct-care nurses—to guide the organization. The board then elects a council of presidents who share responsibility for the day-to-day business of the organization; this year they JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2010

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