Affiliation Gives Boost to Drive for Guaranteed Health Care for All - California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee Joins AFL-CIO - 325,000 RNs Unite in Federation
(Washington, May 21) – Saying nurses are eager to help lead the drive for guaranteed health care for all, 75,000 Registered Nurses became the newest members of the AFL-CIO today as the California Nurses Association and its national arm, the National Nurses Organizing Committee, joined the 10 million member federation. The AFL-CIO is the nation’s umbrella organization for labor unions. The national affiliation charter, which is effective today, is being issued at a meeting of the board of directors of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC).
“Nobody understands better than nurses that health care in our country cries out for reform,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “CNA has led the drive for reform in California; working together in the AFL-CIO, we have the power to build a broad new national movement that can win change.”
"We look forward to engaging in collective work with AFL-CIO unions," saidCalifornia Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee President Deborah Burger, RN. "We believe that the strength of the labor movement coupled with the nurses' commitment to guaranteeing comprehensive healthcare coverage through HR 676 will provide the foundation necessary for genuine reform," Burger said.
The affiliation unites 325,000 RNs in the federation. CNA/NNOC will join the AFL-CIO RNs Working Together Industry Coordinating Committee and affiliate with all AFL-CIO state and local organizations where it has members. CNA/NNOC nurses join AFL-CIO nurses represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Communications Workers of America (CWA), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), International
Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), United Auto Workers (UAW), United American Nurses (UAN), and United Steelworkers (USW).
“We look forward to being a part of a Federation that has distinguished itself as the national voice of working people in the U.S., and is the leading national champion for all Americans on a broad range of critical issues, including jobs, retirement security, economic opportunity, workplace safety, civil rights, civil liberties, and public safety,” Burger said.
The CNA/NNOC is a national organization, representing RNs in all 50 states.
The CNA/NNOC affiliation is the latest in a string of AFL-CIO affiliations and partnerships that have significantly strengthened the labor movement. Last December, nearly 50,000 mail handlers with the National Postal Mail Handlers Union returned to the AFL-CIO after having left the federation along with their parent union, the Laborers. The United Transportation Union’s 60,000 members also affiliated with the AFL-CIO late last year. Four National Education Association (NEA) groups have taken advantage of the unique national NEA / AFL-CIO partnership opportunity: Rialto Education Association (Calif.), Seattle Education Association (Wash.), Beloit Education Association (Wisc.), and UDC Faculty Association (Washington, D.C.). Two more unions have recently affiliated directly with the national AFL-CIO: the Monarch Electric Blue Collar Union (Ohio) and the Dade County School Maintenance Employee Committee (Fla.).
In addition, the AFL-CIO has forged innovative new partnerships with the National Day Laborers Organizing Network (NDLON), the nation’s largest day laborer association, and Interfaith Worker Justice, a national coalition of faith-based worker rights groups. Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate for workers who don’t have a union on the job, continues to gain steam, now counting 1.6 million members nationwide.
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