National Nurses United

lic education, environmental degradation, the greatest income disparity between everyday Americans and the wealthiest of our society since the 1920s, and tax policies that reward the wealth- iest corporations while public services go begging. Against this backdrop, the 500 delegates to the CNA 2005 House of Delegates convention will attend workshops and con- sider bylaw changes and resolutions intended to buttress efforts by CNA members to defend hard-won contract gains and patient protections, enhance the voice of nurses in California and across the nation in patient advocacy and fundamental health care reform, and more fully integrate CNA into the arena to address the corporate assault on our communities. The convention will also feature presentations from several prominent national figures including film star and activist Warren Beatty, and Richard Trumka, Secretary Treasurer of the AFL- CIO. A PROPOSAL TO AFFILIATE WITH THE AFL-CIO One major convention topic is a proposal that would authorize a CNA affiliation with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the national movement of working people. The AFL-CIO is a federation of more than 50 national and international unions with some 10 million members that has led the national fight to stop the Bush administration's attempt to privatize Social Security and headed the legal challenge to pro- posed changes in federal law that would reclassify all RNs as I n California, due to CNA's collective strength and the organization's phenomenal growth, CNA has been able to win the best contracts for RNs in the nation along with major legislative and regulatory reforms for nurses and patients. But the storm clouds are darkening. The alliance of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with the state's hospital industry have spawned efforts to reverse the landmark RN staffing ratio law, privatize and reduce public employee pen- sions, and encourage hard-line hospital chains to undermine RN standards, patient protections, and the rights of nurses to repre- sentation. This assault parallels ominous national trends. From coast to coast, hospital employers have forced RNs to accept conces- sions in health benefits, retirement security, staffing, and even wage cuts. Most California hospital systems, which also operate in other states, plan to degrade protections and standards for RNs and patients here to match their other hospitals. Concurrently, legislatures and regulatory agencies, working closely with the healthcare industry, have fostered initiatives to replace RNs with LVNs and other staff, outsource RN care, and erode RN professional practice. Additionally, a collaborative effort of hospitals, consultants, and the current anti-union majority on the federal labor board seek to strip RNs of their most basic rights. Nurses, of course, are not the only targets. Corporate dom- inance of the economic, political, and cultural sectors of our soci- ety has never been greater. The consequences include the shredding of our healthcare safety net, declining support for pub- Cover Story 14 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 5 C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E

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