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UAN Nurse Delegates Set Course for State and National Growth, Tackle Staffing and Patient Care Issues at Tenth Annual NLA

Posted on: Thursday, 12 March 2009, 16:16 CDT

Staff Nurses Press Congress Members on RN Staffing, Employee Free Choice Act

SILVER SPRING, Md., March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Staff nurse delegates from across the country gathered at the tenth annual National Labor Assembly of the United American Nurses, AFL-CIO, to approve measures expanding UAN's capacity to address RN and patient care concerns and position UAN as the pre-eminent national union for staff registered nurses.

"We are committed to working with this new presidential administration to create a safer health care system for all Americans and better patient care conditions for RNs," said UAN President Ann Converso, RN. "UAN nurses laid the groundwork at this NLA for us to move forward boldly to meet those objectives."

Following the NLA, nearly 100 staff nurses fanned out across Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers on the need for federal staffing ratio legislation, the Employee Free Choice Act and the RESPECT Act, which is legislation to protect the collective bargaining rights of RNs serving as charge nurses.

"It's imperative that our legislators hear from staff nurses on RN staffing and union rights issues, among others, particularly as we begin a national dialogue on health care reform under President Obama," Converso added. "The protection of a union enables nurses to forcefully advocate for our patients. All nurses - and every worker in this country - should have that same protection of a union in their workplace if they choose."

Among the resolutions NLA delegates passed are measures to:

• Ratify a legislative agenda identifying health care reform, the Employee Free Choice Act, the RESPECT Act, RN staffing ratios, mandatory overtime limits, safe patient handling, collective bargaining protections for Veterans Affairs nurses and foreign nurse visas as top-tier priorities;
• Set a dues policy that enhances UAN's ability to protect and fight for staff nurses and patients;
• Oppose federal legislation increasing the number of foreign nurse visas - a move that does nothing to help RNs already in this country who may have left bedside nursing due to poor working conditions or to protect other countries which can't afford to lose nurses;
• Support voluntary flu vaccination for RNs but oppose mandatory flu vaccine policies;
• Reject the National Council of State Boards of Nursing's Nurse Licensure Compact, which gives the NCSBN control of nursing regulation in 23 states with no independent agency oversight;
• Promote and expand UAN's work on environmental health; and,
• Support UAN Executive Council discussions with the California and Massachusetts Nurses Associations regarding the formation of a new national union, the United American Nurses-National Nurses Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO, with any affiliation agreement subject to ratification by a future NLA.

In addition to consideration of these issues, delegates also re-elected Executive Council members to three-year terms running through 2012. They include:

• Jean Ross, RN, Secretary-Treasurer (Minnesota)
• Sandra Falwell, RN, Director (District of Columbia)
• Carolyn Hietamaki, RN, Director (Michigan)

Delegates also elected committee members to three-year terms, including:

• Jennifer Michelson, RN, Hearing Panel Committee (Minnesota)
• Becky Sue Baldwin, RN, Hearing Panel Committee Alternate (Michigan)
• Renee Curtis, RN, Nominations Committee (Michigan)

The full text of all UAN NLA resolutions is available at www.UANNurse.org.

The United American Nurses, AFL-CIO, represents nurses across the country in state nurses associations, collective bargaining programs and independent unions, uniting to work for change on the issues important to staff RNs.

SOURCE United American Nurses, AFL-CIO

Source: PR Newswire

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