National Nurses United

J U LY | A U G U S T 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 NATIONAL W hen nurses focus on a single standard of care, and describe to audiences of all kinds what is actual- ly happening in their workplaces, it changes how the public thinks about healthcare reform. This happened again in late August at a major conference for single-payer, Medicare- for-All healthcare reform held at the Oakland offices of the California Nurses Association/ National Nurses United. More than 40 RNs from throughout the United States—including Texas, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, and else- where—brought a special and powerful message: We need to guarantee a single standard of safe, therapeutic care for all, and ensure that changes in healthcare delivery and on the provider side do not undermine that guarantee. This message strongly resonated with the nearly 300 committed activists who came together under the banners of the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer, Healthcare NOW!, and One-Payer States, in a joint conference also housed at the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6 hall. The conference set a new standard for unity of purpose, shared vision, and high energy. Bringing the national coalitions devoted to single-payer healthcare reform together signified an emergence of the movement from the shadow of the Afford- able Care Act, and a renewal of the fight for healthcare justice. This was not pie-in-the-sky dreaming, but instead substantive consideration of joint strategies, on-the-ground training in using social media and other tactics, and organization building to go beyond the private insurance reforms of the ACA. Clearly, RNs—as the largest group at this conference and with the greatest credibility among the public—will play a leading role in winning a truly humane healthcare system. RNs recognize the imperative for healthcare justice: We have a right to health, rather than simply access to insurance and care based on our ability to pay. During the conference, with a strong Cali- fornia contingent as well as diverse geograph- ic representation which included the South, RNs reinforced the message that patients and patient care need to be put front and center. As CNA/NNU friend and SiCKO star Donna Smith put it, "not for us, without us." As RNs joined with other activists, it also became clear that much of the progress we can make in the coming years will be at the state level. NNU members are well placed to make a difference in those state struggles, coordinat- ed through national networks and actions. Minnesota presents an opportunity next year to move single-payer through the legislative process, with Minnesota RNs in a lead role. California, which has twice passed single- payer through the Legislature, only to see it vetoed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneg- ger, looks to build towards renewed legisla- tion and an initiative campaign, with CNA leadership playing a key role. In Maine, NNU RNs are working with labor allies to organize for their own state single-payer system as they assist neighboring Vermont to become the first single-payer state. Where single-payer organizing is moving at the state level, labor unions by necessity have to lead. The continuing cost shifting of higher co-pays, premiums, and deductibles onto workers from employers; the restricted access to care under employer plans; the negative impact of the ACA on union plans; and the push toward "individual purchase" are further eroding union benefit plans. Increasingly, more union members are coming to the conclusion that if they are to "keep what they have,"—the dubious prom- ise of the ACA—everyone must receive the same high standard of excellent healthcare. The 50th anniversary of Medicare in 2015 to be celebrated next summer presents a national opportunity to reach out to labor allies and others who supported the ACA as the only reform on the table, but who are the natural base of support for improving Medicare and extending it to cover everyone. Bringing together young people, Latinos, as well as women, African-Americans, and others of the 30 million left out by the limi- tations of the ACA, was a constant theme of the conference. In the midst of political polarization, heightened tensions over police shootings of black youth, raging economic inequality, and restrictions on women's access to healthcare services, organizing for guaran- teed healthcare as part of the broader strug- gle for social and economic justice is essential to transforming our country in order to make healthcare justice possible. RNs get it. The activists, the public, other workers, small businesses, everybody but the corporate healthcare industry, recognize the power of RN leadership in healthcare policy. Let's show them what a strong national nurses movement can create: guar- anteed healthcare for all. —Michael Lighty Major conference reenergizes single-payer movement

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