National Nurses United

O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 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 7 Nurses not only heard from progressive leaders, but had the chance to attend a series of continuing education courses meant to help them understand and be able to critique the political and economic structures within which they care for patients. These courses included "Safeguarding Science to Protect the Right to Care," "How Regulations Protect our Health and our Lives," "Nurse Leaders and the Fight for a Healthy Planet," and "Preserv- ing Patient Protections Through Registered Nurses' Professional Scope of Practice." "It's pretty serious times out there. We're kind of on the precipice of Armageddon," said RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of CNA/NNOC as well as National Nurses United, of which CNA/NNOC is an affiliate. "Then these people come along called nurs- es, called activists, called movement leaders, called Bernie Sanders, called Nina Turner that make such a difference in our lives." Highlights from the convention included rousing speeches by news commentator and author Van Jones and Our Revolution Presi- dent Nina Turner, a poignant and raucously funny performance by Eve Ensler of The Vagina Monologues fame about how nurses cared for her through her fight against breast cancer, and a special appearance by Sen. Bernie Sanders to talk about the critical fight to win Medicare for all nationwide and his bill, S. 1804, that would do just that. "The status quo is not an option," said Sanders to a packed, outdoor crowd of nurs- es and members of the public at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. "Our job is not just to prevent tens of millions of Ameri- cans from being thrown off the health insur- ance they currently have, it is to join every other major country on earth to guarantee healthcare as a right, not a privilege." At the convention, nurse delegates also installed CNA/NNOC's officers and board of directors into their three-year term as well as voted on six resolutions meant to guide the organization's work and serve as a public statement about the union's positions. These resolutions covered defending nursing prac- tice and patient protection and advocacy, nurses' rights to collective action, support- ing Medicare-for-all, nurses' commitment to fighting for climate justice, their solidarity with immigrants around the world, and support of a progressive People's Platform. While deliberating the resolutions, nurses had the opportunity to rise and speak in favor of or against the measure, often shar- ing deeply personal stories and moving testimony behind their thinking. Referring to the resolution defending nursing practice, Kim Scott, an RN from Florida said, "This resolution will allow us to fight for ratios. As we know as RNs, safe- ty is everything, and ratios are everything to safety." When debating the immigration resolu- tion, nurses who themselves are immigrants spoke passionately about the need to ally with people simply seeking a better life for themselves and their families. "If it weren't for a few decades, my family would be deported today," said Tveen Kirkpatrick, an RN from Los Angeles who comes from a family of refugees. "If we want to live in a humane world, we have to be humane." Sandra Martinez, an RN from Monterey, Calif., remarked through tears that she has been an American citizen for 26 years and "not until this administration have I ever seriously considered carrying around my citizenship papers." It was clear that nurses were all on the same page and united in their determina- tion to fight for themselves, their patients, and their communities. At one point, while CNA/NNOC Copresident Cokie Giles, RN from Maine was reading out loud the resolu- tion supporting improvement and expan- sion of Medicare for all, nurses became impatient and started prematurely raising their "yes" vote cards before she had a chance to finish. Suddenly, every nurse in the hall was spontaneously holding up their "yes" card. They didn't need to hear more; of course nurses supported extending Medicare to every resident. After passage of the resolutions, CNA/NNOC officers urged delegates to return to their facilities and communities and start the conversations needed for political education. "These are six kick-ass resolutions," said Giles. "I am proud to read them." "We have to be talking proudly of what we just did here today," said Malinda Markowitz, RN and also a CNA/NNOC copresident. "We need to bring this back to our nurses, back to our community." —Staff report

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