National Nurses United

NewsBriefs 6/13/06 2:17 PM Page 6 NewsBriefs CNA/NNOC Conference Sets National, State Advocacy Goals s part of a conference attended by some 750 RNs, registered nurse leaders with CNA/NNOC met in Sacramento this May to lay out plans for advocacy and representation across the country. The nurses set goals for recruitment of additional RN activists in each state, and decided to support two pieces of national legislation as well as pushing for California-style standards at their respective state levels. Nurses also decided to support HR 676, a pending Congressional bill that would extend Medicare to all citizens. "We are trying to build a grassroots movement to get nurses politically active in patient advocacy, and to try to turn this system around," said Rebecca Grande, a Cleveland RN who attended the Sacramento conference. "We're also hoping in the broadest sense that the country goes to one-payer so that resources are available for patients." —miranda everitt A RNs from Flagstaff Medical Center in Arizona participate, along with hundreds of RNs from more than 20 states, in discussions of CNA/NNOC's work. Kentucky and Maine RNs Look to Team Up With CNA/NNOC s its reputation for patient advocacy on Clean Money and single-payer healthcare. and staff nurse empowerment grows, They share a strong desire to fight corporate nursing groups around the country are healthcare, and to improve the healthcare seeking to join the movement by affiliating system and political system. We believe they have a lot to bring to this." with CNA/NNOC. Since 1989, the Kentucky nurses have In April, the Nurses Professional Organization, an organizing collective of Kentucky advocated for the rights of nurses in that registered nurses, voted unanimously to state to be patient advocates, to organize, and to collectively bargain. They have pushed for team up with CNA/NNOC. legislation to require better And pending a September staffing standards, but so far ratification vote by members, [NATIONAL] unsuccessfully. the Maine State Nurses Associ"We believe that CNA has been the most ation, a professional association and union of approximately 1,500 RNs, will also join the effective nurses organization in raising standards for patient care and nurses, so we think organization. CNA/NNOC president Deborah Burger, it's a good example of where we'd like to go," RN welcomed the two groups and said that said Kay Tillow, NPO's director of organization. the organization was excited by these devel- "We think that as this spirit of nurse power and opments. "Both these groups understand that nurse-patient alliance spreads throughout the there's strength in numbers," said Burger. country, it will bring many good things." Like the Kentucky nurses, the Maine "Both are happy to join us in the fight to take A 6 REGISTERED NURSE W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G nurses share many common goals with CNA/NNOC. And like CNA did in 1995, the MSNA split from the American Nurses Association in 2001 because it disagreed with the ANA's management-driven agenda and was concerned about lack of control over budget issues. Since then, they have sought a way to have a national voice on nursing, healthcare, and patient issues. "Even though we're a small nurses association, we can still have a large impact nationally," said Judy Brown, a pre-anesthesia RN and president of the largest facility MSNA represents, Eastern Maine Medical Center. "The best way to have that kind of impact is to join up with a national group that has staff nurses' interests at the forefront of their political agenda." The affiliations expand CNA/NNOC's network and mean that the groups will be cooperating on national projects and issues. —staff report JUNE 2006

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