National Nurses United

J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 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 5 CALIFORNIA I t was past midnight Thursday, July 23, ebbing into Friday morning when Califor- nia Nurses Association/National Nurses United Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro announced the report of the final numbers from the vote count at Kaiser Perma- nente's flagship Southern California hospital. "CNA, 696, UNAC, 305, no union, 1," read DeMoro, sparking cheers, tears of joy, raised hands, and spontaneous song from hundreds of Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center RNs gathered in front of this large hospital on the city's fabled Sunset Boulevard. They were adorned in CNA's signature red scrubs, T-shirts, lanyards, and "Vote CNA" pins. The landslide victory, in which an impres- sive 89 percent of LAMC RNs voted, culmi- nated months of work by RNs in this historic election. Many of the nurses had aspired for years to join CNA and link up with 19,000 CNA Kaiser RNs in Northern and Central California, a group with a long-established banner reputation of no-nonsense advocacy for patients and nurses. To the 1,200 LAMC nurses, CNA's record stood in stark contrast to unions, like United Nurses Associations of California (UNAC), which through Kaiser's Labor Management Partnership have muted the voice of union members and regularly placed patient, public, and worker advocacy as secondary to Kaiser's business goals. "If there is anyone out there who doubts that CNA is the right choice for us, tonight is the answer," said Tessie Costales, RN, an intensive care unit nurse at LAMC, at a cele- bration party at a nearby restaurant after the final count. "It's the answer that we have wait- ed for; we are the answer that will lead those who have been told by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful of what we can achieve to be part of history and hope for a better tomorrow for years to come. A season of spring has begun. We will lead that change." "CNA," said Joel Briones, a critical care RN at LAMC, "is not just a union, it's a movement." DeMoro agreed. "We are fighting for a social movement. What amazing nurses," she said. "I've never seen a group of nurses so dedicated to being a part of the CNA family and changing the health care system and changing the world." That determination drove this historic organizing campaign by the LAMC RNs. They had the double challenge of uniting to address their growing concerns about patient care conditions—which led to a two-day strike in late April, exceedingly rare at a time they had no union representation officially recognized by the employer—while also confronting the collusion of a labor manage- ment partnership union with the employer. "Kaiser RNs have made CNA and NNU the most effective voice for nurses in California and the United States," said Zenei Cortez, a Kaiser Northern California RN, co-president of CNA, and chair of the Kaiser RN negotiating team. "CNA has provided us the ability to achieve our dreams for our patients, our families, and our coworkers. With LAMC RNs joining us, we have a historic opportunity to build on those gains and dreams." —Charles Idelson RNs at Kaiser's flagship SoCal hospital join CNA Landslide victory in historic vote

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