National Nurses United
National Nurses United is the largest organization of registered nurses in the United States. With more than 225,000 members, it is the farthest-reaching union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S. Founded in 2009 through the merging of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, the United American Nurses, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the NNU focuses on amplifying the voice of direct care RNs and patients in national policy. The union's policy positions include the enactment of safe nurse-to-patient ratios, patient advocacy rights at the Executive and State level, and legislation for single-payer health care to secure "quality healthcare for all, as a human right." The organization's goal is to "organize all direct care RNs into a single organization capable of exercising influence over the healthcare industry, governments, and employers."
Leadership
The executive director of the national organization, which is affiliated with the AFL–CIO, is labor leader Bonnie Castillo, who also heads the 90,000-member California Nurses Association. The former executive director is RoseAnn DeMoro, who serves as National Vice President and Executive Board Member of the AFL–CIO.Activities
Single-payer health care
The organization backs a Medicare for All single-payer healthcare plan for the United States.To support a single-payer system, NNU leadership mobilized large-scale demonstrations demanding single-payer healthcare be included in the platform at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Occupy Wall Street
National Nurses United has held numerous protests, including one in front of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and another on Wall Street, to protest privatization and profiteering in the health care industry.NNU supports a tax on financial transactions, which the organization says could raise at least $350 billion a year.