Historic Pact Creates Largest RN Union Ev...( OAKLAND Calif. Feb. 18 /- In a dr...),Health

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In a dramatic move to unite the power and influence of America's leading direct care RN organizations, the United American Nurses, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association today announced they are joining together to form a new, 150,000-member association.

The new organization will be called the United American Nurses-National Nurses Organizing Committee, UAN-NNOC (AFL-CIO), the three said in a joint statement issued today.

"Under the principle that RNs should be represented by an RN union," the statement declared, "we resolve to create a new union of staff nurse-led organizations named UAN-NNOC" to:

    1. "Build an RN movement in order to defend and advance the interests of
       direct care nurses across the country;
    2. "Organize all non-union direct care RNs (a substantial majority of the
       budget shall be dedicated to new organizing);
    3. "Provide a powerful national voice for RN rights, safe RN practice,
       including RN-to-patient staffing ratios under the principle that safe
       staffing saves lives, and health care justice;
    4. "Provide a vehicle for solidarity with sister nurse and allied
       organizations around the world;
    5. "Create a national Taft-Hartley pension for union RNs."

Central to the new organization is a guiding principle that all RNs "should be represented by an RN union," the joint statement declared.