National Nurses United (NNU) is the largest organization of

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...

s in the United States. With more than 225,000 members, it is the farthest-reaching union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S. Founded in 2009 through the merging of the

California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), an affiliate of National Nurses United, is a trade union labor union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States. Since 2018, CNA/NNOC ha ...

, the United American Nurses, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the NNU focuses on amplifying the voice of direct care RNs and patients in national policy. The union's policy positions include the enactment of safe nurse-to-patient ratios, patient advocacy rights at the Executive and State level, and legislation for single-payer health care to secure "quality healthcare for all, as a human right." The organization's goal is to "organize all direct care RNs into a single organization capable of exercising influence over the healthcare industry, governments, and employers."

Leadership

The Executive Director of the national organization, which is affiliated with the AFL–CIO, is labor leader Bonnie Castillo, who also heads the 90,000-member California Nurses Association. The former Executive Director is RoseAnn DeMoro, who serves as National Vice President and Executive Board Member of the AFL–CIO.

Activities

Single-payer health care

The organization backs a Medicare for All single-payer healthcare plan for the United States. To support a single-payer system, NNU leadership mobilized large-scale demonstrations demanding single-payer healthcare be included in the platform at the

2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...

Occupy Wall Street

National Nurses United has held numerous protests, including one in front of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and another on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

, to protest privatization and profiteering in the health care industry. NNU supports a tax on financial transactions, which the organization says could raise at least $350 billion a year.

Support for Bernie Sanders

In '' The New York Times'' on January 28, 2016, Nicholas Confessore reported, "According to Federal Election Commission records NU's'super PAC' has spent close to $1 million on ads and other support for Democratic presidential candidate

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

. The NNU spending was classified as "Expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate." In 2019, NNU officially endorsed Sanders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

History

United American Nurses

Founded in 1999, it only represented

s (RNs). In 2009, UAN merged with the

and Massachusetts Nurses Association to form NNU.

New York State Nurses Association

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) voted to join NNU as an affiliate in October 2022, increasing NNU's total membership to nearly 225,000.

References

External links

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Main Street Contract for the American People
{{Authority control Nursing organizations in the United States 2009 establishments in the United States Trade unions established in 2009 AFL–CIO