National Nurses United

NewsBriefs:Sept CX 10/27/09 11:52 AM Page 4 NewsBriefs NATIONAL CONVENTION A STEPPING STONE TO SUPER UNION T NATIONAL he 2009 cna/nnoc national convention this September was a gathering unlik e an y other . Some 1,200 registered nurses from across the country – including for the first time contingents of nurses fr om U nited American N urses (UAN), the SEIU Nurse Alliance, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA)— convened in San Francisco for three days of education, protest, and inspiration focused on growing the power of nurses to advocate for patients. Besides the palpable unity felt among r egistered nurses who attended, CNA/NNOC delegates also unanimously approved a resolution that affirmed their commitment to creating an RN super union of 150,000 members by joining forces with UAN and MNA to lead a national movement for nurses. The founding convention for National Nurses United is scheduled for early December in Arizona. 4 REGISTERED NURSE "We are creating something that is run by RNs only and led by bedside nurses," said Malinda Markowitz, RN and a member of the CNA/NNOC board of directors, during the convention's opening plenary. "That is phenomenal. But we cannot do this alone. We have to stand together." The theme of the convention, "A New Foundation: Building the RN SuperUnion," was resoundingly echoed by multiple nurse leaders from various organizations. "Since the 1980s, I've been trying to work toward a national voice for nurses," said Beth Piknick, RN and pr esident of the M assachusetts Nurses Association. "Our history brings us here to reunite us. We can do this. 150,000 registered nurses calling the shots is the right thing to do." Naturally, building a national movement of registered nurse will require mass organizing of RNs in every state. So RNs took the opportunity of such a large gathering of their profession at the convention to march on W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G Sen. Dianne Feinstein's home and office Sept. 9 to demand her support of the Employee Free Choice Act, a pending federal bill that would make it easier for workers to unionize and which she has not endorsed. Nurses wrote personal notes urging Feinstein to support EFCA, attached the cards to red roses, and left them outside her front door. The ultimate goal is for all r egistered nurses to be unionized under NNU, instead of being split among unions that may not understand the practice issues and complex industry landscape of RNs. "If someone else organizes nurses, then your voice will be forever fragmented," warned Julie Pinkham, executive director of the M assachusetts Nurses Association. In addition to unionizing RNs, a national nurses movement under NNU would fight for improved nursing practice and patient protection standards, such as national minimum RN-to-patient ratios, and work to pass genuine healthcare reform that provides a single SEPTEMBER 2009

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