Decision Expected on Major Assault on Nurses.

70,000 RNs Say They Will Act to Defend Rights of Nurses and Patient Safety if Bush Administration Bars RN Democratic Rights

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, which represents 70,000 registered nurses in 44 states, warns that a major Bush Administration ruling that could undermine fundamental rights of millions of working people could come as soon as today.

CNA/NNOC said the ruling could declare hundreds of thousands of RNs as "supervisors," and thus ineligible for union representation, and the protection it provides for their ability to act on behalf of patient safety. The National Labor Relations Board is taking up the issue at the behest of the hospital industry and other big business groups.

CNA/NNOC Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro will be available to comment on the decision and to describe actions CNA/NNOC will take to defend the rights of nurses and patients.

Nurses throughout California and in other states will also be available to speak to the media.

To arrange an interview, call 510-273-2246 or 415-559-8991.

In the past few months, CNA/NNOC has sponsored large protests in California and Maine, and a sit-in at the national headquarters of the American Hospital Association in Chicago to protest the pending decision which is also expected to affect millions of lead workers in other industries.

CNA is also working actively with other nurses groups around the U.S., including the Massachusetts Nurses Association, and the Pennsylvania Assn. of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, to co-ordinate responses.