National Nurses United (NNU) is the largest organization of registered nurses in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. 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

United American Nurses National Nurses United (NNU) is the largest organization of registered nurses 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 th ...

, 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

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, is labor leader

Bonnie Castillo Bonnie Castillo is the executive director of National Nurses United and of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee. Castillo also held the positions of CNA/NNOC director of government relations and NNU director of h ...

, 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 is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from ...

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

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Occupy Wall Street

National Nurses United has held numerous protests, including one in front of the

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and another on Wall Street, 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 ''

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'' on January 28, 2016, Nicholas Confessore reported, "According to

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records NU's'super PAC' has spent close to $1 million on ads and other support for Democratic

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

Bernie Sanders. 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 registered nurses (RNs). In 2009, UAN merged with the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee 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

*
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