Nurses from three unions have founded a new national union to influence national healthcare policies and try to extend California's patient ratio law into other states. Organizers said the 150,000-member National Nurses United, the largest professional union for registered nurses in the country, will also push for a stronger voice in the healthcare overhaul process going on in Congress and the expansion of representation for nonunion nurses. The merger, approved at a convention in Phoenix, combines the California union with the Massachusetts Nurses Union and members from the United American Nurses, who work primarily in the Midwest. The unions will continue to operate separately, but will be aligned under the larger umbrella of National Nurses United, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
