CNA/NNOC, SEIU Agree to Work Together in Bringing Voice to Heatlh Care Workers

Mike Hall, March 19, 2009 The nation’s two largest health care unions today signed a dramatic new agreement to work together to bring a voice to health care workers around the country and ramp up efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. The agreement between the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) and SEIU, says CNA/NNOC Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro, provides a huge spark for the emergence of a more powerful, unified national movement that is needed to more effectively challenge health care industry layoffs and attacks on Registered Nurse (RN) economic and professional standards and patient care conditions. It will also strengthen the ability of all direct-care RNs to fight for real health care reform and advocate for improved patient care conditions and stronger patient safety legislation from coast to coast The two unions have been at odds recently over several issues, but, says SEIU President Andy Stern: We are lining up to make sweeping changes to this country’s broken health care system, and as we wait for the starting gun it is imperative that we put the past behind us and move forward by putting all health care workers in the strongest possible position to define reform, move legislation, and make the new health care system operational. SEIU represents about 80,000 RNs and several hundred thousand other health care workers in hospitals, nursing homes and home care. In a joint statement, the two unions said they will bring union representation to all non-union RNs and other health care employees and step-up efforts to enact Employee Free Choice. Under today’s agreement:

• The two unions will work together to organize nonunion hospital workers throughout the country, with CNA/NNOC as the leading voice for RNs and SEIU as the leading voice for all other hospital workers.
• The unions will launch an intensive national organizing campaign with an initial focus on the nation’s largest hospital systems.
• In addition to organizing, SEIU and CNA/NNOC will coordinate on a broad range of other issues, from bargaining with common employers to the campaign to enact the Employee Free Choice Act.
• SEIU and CNA/NNOC publicly endorse measures that allow states to adopt single-payer health care systems.
• Both parties will refrain from “raiding,” seeking to displace the existing members of the other’s organization or from interference in the other’s internal affairs.
• The two unions will create a new joint RN organization in Florida to represent current and future RNs of both unions. In all other states, SEIU will continue to represent their current RN members in collective bargaining.

from AFL-CIO BlogNow