Nurses Union Expanding Agenda
The California Nurses Association is expanding its agenda to include organizing nurses in other states and sponsoring a measure on the Nov. 7 statewide ballot, NPR's "All Things Considered" reports.
Although membership in many other unions nationwide is decreasing, CNA has more than tripled its membership in the past 12 years. CNA's critics -- many of whom, including the American Nurses Association, declined to be interviewed by NPR -- have said the organization is "aggressive, radical and sensationalist," according to NPR (Jaffe, "All Things Considered," NPR, 8/8).
According to NPR, CNA's sponsorship of Proposition 89 -- a measure that would limit campaign contributions and create a public financing system for state candidates -- is "at odds" with other California unions. Most organized labor is "keeping its distance" from the measure, and some are actively working to defeat it, NPR reports.
The NPR segment also includes comments from:
- Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of CNA;
- Barbara Kerr, president of the California Teachers Association, which opposes Proposition 89;
- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R); and
- CNA members ("All Things Considered," NPR, 8/8).