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A P R I L | M AY 2 0 1 4 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 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 11 CALIFORNIA B y a landslide margin of 72 percent, registered nurses at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, Calif. voted March 26 to join California's largest organization of nurses. In a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, the RNs voted 96-38 to affiliate with the Cali- fornia Nurses Association/National Nurses United. The 200 Verdugo Hills RNs are joining the ranks of 800 RNs who are already CNA members at two other USC acute-care hospitals, Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Center and Hospital. "I've been a nurse at this hospital for 33 years. I'm overjoyed to win with CNA, which sponsored California's safe staffing law," said Pacita Felix, an intensive care unit RN at Verdugo Hills. "We will set the foundation for nurses and their families to gain fully paid healthcare and an improved retirement plan. Let us secure our future together." Verdugo Hills RNs said they were inspired by the improvements won by other USC nurses in their CNA contracts for better staffing, salaries, health benefits, retirement security, and RN practice protections. Safe staffing, including adherence to minimum RN-to-patient staffing ratios, maintenance of adequate patient care support staff, safe patient lift practices to reduce RN injuries and patient falls and accidents, and improved health coverage were all key issues in the organizing campaign by Verdugo Hills RNs. "Congratulations to the Verdugo Hills RNs on your decision to join with nurses across California to protect our patients and strengthen patient care and RN stan- dards for nurses," said CNA Co-President Deborah Burger, RN. "With the erosion of patient services and hospital care we see in so many communities, a strong, unified collective voice for nurses in Southern California, throughout California, and across the nation is more important than ever." The Verdugo Hills RNs are part of a major organizing wave by National Nurses United affiliate unions across the country. More than 17,000 RNs at 50 hospitals have voted to unionize with NNU over the past four years, making it the largest RN organi- zation and one of the fastest-growing unions in the United States. —Staff report Verdugo Hills RNs unionize