Oregon and Washington nurse associations help launch new union

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) has joined a newly formed national nurses union that includes nursing associations from Washington, Montana, Ohio, New Jersey, and New York.

The National Federation of Nurses (NFN) was launched April 15 in Portland in conjunction with the Oregon Nurses Association’s annual convention. The new federation will represent more than 70,000 registered nurses in the six states (15,000 RNs in Washington and 11,500 RNs in Oregon).

The six state associations disaffiliated from the United American Nurses (UAN) in December of 2007. The UAN is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

The new National Federation of Nurses is an independent federation and is not affiliated with the AFL-CIO or Change to Win.

However, the Oregon and Washington nurses associations are affiliated with their respective state labor federations.

Paul Goldberg, assistant executive director of labor relations for the Oregon Nurses Association said the union will continue its relationship with the Oregon AFL-CIO.

“ONA plans to continue to pay local dues and be a part of the Oregon AFL-CIO,” he said.

Barbara Crane, a critical care nurse at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, N.Y., was elected to serve as president of the National Federation of Nurses. She also is the current president of the New York State Nurses Association.

Two officers from the Oregon Nurses Association — Julie Shuff and President Bruce Humphreys — were elected vice president and director, respectively, of the NFN.

Kim Armstrong, president of the Washington Nurses Association, was elected secretary of the NFN.

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