Uniting Together in the Nurse Alliance of SEIU
The strongest, most innovative organization of RNs in the country
Registered nurses and other healthcare employees at the Cook County
Bureau of Health Services (CCBHS) know first-hand how funding hasn’t
kept up with the growing numbers who depend on their care. Year after
year, these budget constraints undermine nurses’ ability to raise
standards for patients and devalue their work as dedicated nursing
professionals.
As Cook County RNs head to the bargaining
table, it’s time they had a union with the strength, numbers and
know-how—in Illinois and nationally—to finally make a difference at
CCBHS.
By joining the Nurse Alliance of SEIU Healthcare—the nation’s largest union of nurses with 85,000 RNs in 23 states—RNs would join with 4,000 SEIU members also bargaining with Cook County to set higher standards for everyone. And as part of the SEIU family in Illinois—all 165,000 members—nurses would gain a strong political voice throughout Chicago and in Springfield to change the face of healthcare in our state.
Cook County RNs would also gain an effective voice through the Nurse
Alliance of SEIU, a national nurse-run organization that focuses on the
unique issues facing our profession. Nurse Alliance RNs have the
benefit of tailoring their contracts to meet their local needs and
those of their patients. At the same time, nurses are part of a
national network for sharing information and innovative solutions to
common problems, like short staffing, faced at work.
As an organization of, by, and for nurses, members of the Nurse
Alliance set the direction about how more nurses can unite to improve
the profession and ensure quality patient care. When CCBHS nurses form
their own Nurse Alliance chapter, they will make their
own decisions about
their priorities--
and chart a better future for Cook County patients and the nurses who care for them.