Massachusetts Nurses Say ‘Yes’ to RN Super Union
Delegates to the Massachusetts Nurses Association’s (MNA’s) annual convention yesterday voted overwhelmingly to become part of the largest registered nurses union in U.S. history—National Nurses United (NNU).
The new NNU unifies the 23,000-member MNA with the 86,000-strong California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), which voted to join the super union in September. The 45,000-member United American Nurses (UAN) will hold a vote on whether to join later this month.
Ad: When Nurses Disappear, So Does Patient Safety
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The nation’s crisis in patient care stems from routine understaffing of registered nurses in hospitals—and that understaffing, say nurses unions, leads to thousands of unnecessary patient deaths a year.
In a move to raise public awareness and build support for national safe staffing level standards, the nation’s three major nurses unions have launched a new TV and online advertising campaign. The campaign coincides with the debut of “HawthoRNe,” one of the new TV shows debuting this season that features nurse characters.
The ad from the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), United American Nurses (UAN) and Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) asks viewers to imagine a world without nurses.
When nurses disappear, so does patient safety….If you’ve ever been a patient or will be one in the future, insist on safe staffing levels—because it’s our registered nurses who put the care in health care.
A Tribute to the Nurses of Our Nation
Before more than 1,000 registered nurses and their supporters hit the halls of Congress last week to lobby lawmakers on key nursing and health care reform legislation and the Employee Free Choice Act, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney took time out to praise and encourage the sponsors of the event: the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), United American Nurses (UAN), Massachusetts Nurses Association, Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, New York State Nurses Association and the SEIU Nurse Alliance.
The nurses had traveled from all around the nation to take part in the National RN Day of Action as part of National Nurses Week. We thought we’d share some of Sweeney’s remarks as a reminder to all of us of the great work nurses do—work that sometimes too many of us take for granted—and as a way to highlight the need for safe working conditions so nurses can continue to give their patients the best care possible.
Thanks to all of you for what you do every day for all of our families—what a terrific gathering, what a great tribute to the nurses of our nation to have you here in Washington during National Nurses Week.
Minnesota Nurses Negotiate Landmark Emergency Staffing
When disaster strikes, nurses and other first responders go far beyond the call of duty in rescuing and treating victims. Minnesota nurses answered that call in 2007, when the I-35 bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River.
Yet as Elizabeth Shogren, Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) an affiliate of United American Nurses (UAN), health and safety specialist, points out:
“What is not seen, however, are the heart-wrenching tensions and potential danger facing these heroes behind the scenes.”
She was referring to dangers like short staffing that make it difficult or impossible for nurses to provide the quality care patients deserve all the time, including during emergency situations. Now, a landmark agreement between MNA and Allina Hospitals & Clinics establishes emergency response working conditions.
