Stronger together: RNs lead the way

In this issue, we report on a new coalition of nurses representing more than 200,000 RNs in eight different AFL-CIO unions. Historically, workers in different unions have acted as if they live in separate worlds, each union with its own program and agenda. This is understandable because each is a separate, democratically established organization. Also, each union is very proud of what it has accomplished. While it continues to be important for each union to preserve its independence and democracy, what is also painfully clear is that the challenges we face as individual unions are so large that the time has come to put aside those things that might have divided us in the past and focus instead on what unites us. Over the next year, you will hear more about our newly formed coalition called RNs Working Together.

I am proud to say that our union, AFT Healthcare, was a major force in creating this new coalition, and that Ann Twomey and  I will be serving as  AFT nurse representatives on its leadership council. This new coalition is also referred to as an Industry Coordinating Committee (ICC) of the AFL-CIO. The ICC concept was adopted last July at the national AFL-CIO convention, where it was decided that unions could join together to create ICCs by industry, occupation or region. Unions agreeing to be bound by standards and plans would have special assistance from the AFL-CIO. Our RN group has led the way and become the first ICC in the country. The new coalition at this point is made up only of unions that have registered nurses in their membership. Eventually, it is our plan to expand our coalition to represent all healthcare workers.

What has caused these eight different national unions to put aside differences and join forces? I think Cheryl Johnson, president of the United American Nurses, said it best: “We have a big job ahead to fight for the quality care that every patient deserves, and win the respect and working conditions that will help solve the nursing shortage. We can’t count on hospitals to do the right thing, but we can count on each other.”

The coalition is committed to fighting together on issues of staffing, healthcare safety and professional standards. We will be setting up joint political and legislative programs, establishing contract standards and developing strategic organizing plans.

One of our first jobs will be to mobilize a national campaign to address a very real threat to our RN bargaining units. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is expected to rule in the next few months on a number of cases that may exclude any RN from union representation if he or she ever provides direction to other healthcare workers. The ruling on these cases may cause hundreds of thousands of RNs to lose the protection of labor law or the guaranteed right to organize. It could even jeopardize nurses already covered by contracts. Such a decision could have a chilling effect on RNs’ ability to speak out for themselves and their patients. The RNs Working Together coalition is not going to sit quietly by and let thousands of RNs lose their legal protection.

RNs Working Together represents the best of the labor movement: Unions joining forces, not only to improve the working lives of their members, but to make our communities better. We know what is good for nurses is good for patients, and that together with 200,000 other nurses, we can fix the broken system we call healthcare.