SEIU, California Nurses Association Join Forces on Nationwide Efforts

On Wednesday, the California Nurses Association and the Service Employees International Union announced an agreement under which they will seek to unionize employees at hospitals nationwide and promote expansion of health insurance to all U.S. residents, the New York Times reports.

Under the agreement, the unions will focus on efforts to unionize employees of larger hospital systems, where nurses would join CNA and other workers would join SEIU. The unions also will coordinate contract negotiations and efforts to promote legislation to make unionization more efficient.

In addition, the unions will promote measures that allow states to implement single-payer health care systems and avoid efforts to displace each other at various workplaces.

Context

According to the Times, the agreement ends a year-long battle between the two unions, which have competed to represent registered nurses.

SEIU has 1.8 million members and represents 80,000 nurses, and CNA represents 85,000 nurses. However, CNA will become the largest nursing union in the nation after the completion of a merger with the Massachusetts Nurses Union and the United American Nurses to form a new association with 150,000 members.

Comments

Rose Ann DeMoro, president of CNA, said that SEIU and CNA "have buried the hatchet." She said, "We have a moment to seize," adding, "We have to show hospitals that health care reform is the right thing to do."