Three Professional Nurse Unions Form National Organization
Three of the nation’s largest unions for professional nursing aligned into one national group earlier this month.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Three of the nation’s largest unions for professional nursing aligned into one national group earlier this month.
The immediate goal for the 150,000-member National Nurses United is to pass national health care reform currently being debated in Congress.
The three unions include California Nurses Association (83,000 members), the Massachusetts Nurses Union (23,000), and the United American Nurses (45,000).
The merger occurred at a convention in Phoenix after eight months in talks.
The three unions will operate independently in their regions only to take on national reforms on the federal level as the National Nurses United.
The nurses unions are in favor of single-payer health care system as promoted on Capitol Hill by Rep. John Conyers in the House and Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Senate.
The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee successfully changed California law to enforce new nurse-to-patient ratios, which are seen as increased average nurses’ salaries from $59,937 in 2004 to $81,428 last year.
This ratio law still has its critics who say that there is no evidence that it improves patient care, though it is the only law of its kind in the nation.
