Background on Workplace Advocacy Initiatives at the National Level

1999: The American Nurses Association (ANA) House of Delegates created the United American Nurses (UAN) to serve as the collective bargaining arm of ANA. States with collective bargaining units were given the opportunity to either join as an entire state or have their "insulated structural unit" become an associate member.

2000: At the time of the creation of the UAN, the North, Carolina Nurses Association (NCNA) did not have an insulated structural unit. So the NCNA House of Delegates created the North Carolina United American Nurses (NCUAN) as the insulated unit for addressing the function of promoting and protecting the economic and general welfare of nurses in collective bargaining units. (For over 30 years, NCNA has had one collective bargaining unit which is at the Durham VA. All VA nurses have the opportunity to be represented by some collective bargaining agent. Nurses in the other three VAs in North Carolina are represented by other unions, such as the American Federation of Government Employees.)

The ANA House of Delegates created the Commission on Workplace Advocacy (CWPA) to address the workplace issues of those nurses who live in non-labor states. This entity has not had either the independence or the financing that ANA afforded the UAN.

2001: Because of the inequities between the UAN and the CWPA, 42 state nurses associations urged the passage of a main motion at the 2001 ANA House of Delegates to strengthen the workplace advocacy initiative within the association. This included adopting bylaws to establish an organizational structure in which the multiple strategies of ANA can be fulled realized. It also included a provision for equitable allocation of resources to support these strategies.

2002: In the spring, the ANA Bylaws Committee proposed a total re-write of the ANA bylaws. At the same time, the ANA Board of Directors had begun negotiations with the UAN to see what agreement they could reach on a new structure for ANA. However, there were no similar negotiations taking place with the CWPA. When the House of Delegates convened in June, the workplace advocacy states had enough votes to keep the bylaws from passing. So the ANA House of Delegates adjourned without passage of the proposed bylaws.

By November, the ANA Board of Directors had reached an agreement with the UAN for a new autonomous structure under the ANA umbrella. Negotiations with the CWPA and the ANA Board of Directors faltered for a number of reasons including only the offer of minimal financial support to an autonomous structure for workplace advocacy.

2003: The ANA Board of Directors reached agreement with CWPA this spring. The ANA Bylaws Committee has proposed amendments to the existing ANA Bylaws rather than creating an entire new set. These proposals will create an autonomous structure for both collective bargaining (UAN) and non-collective bargaining interests. The new workplace advocacy structure has decided on a name which is the Center for American Nurses (CAN) For the first two years, CAN will receive funding at $1.5 million from ANA. After that, CAN will receive a percentage of the dues paid to ANA for each member in a state nurses association which has declared itself to be a member of CAN. To date, 34 states have indicated their intent to be a member of CAN. Although the funding is not equitable with the UAN, we have made a major step in funding workplace advocacy programs.

The NCNA Board of Directors voted to send a letter of intent to become a full member of the CAN qualifying as a state that has at least 90% of its members exclusively using workplace advocacy strategies. In addition, The Board has nominated Dona Caine, Chair of the Professional Practice Advocacy Coalition, to run for one of the director positions on the new CAN Leadership Council.

2003: Stay tuned. The ANA House of Delegates met on June 25-27. When it adjourned at 12:00 on June 27, the first meeting of the Center for American Nurses Governing Council convened. Delegates to the Governing Council reviewed bylaws, discussed the next steps for CAN and celebrated a new voice for the future of workplace advocacy within the ANA family.

The Center for American Nurses (CAN) is the sole autonomous organizational member of the American Nurses Association offering a non-collective bargaining workplace advocacy program. The purposes of CAN is to support the nurse in personal and professional growth and development in the practice setting to promote positive work-related experiences and to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to provide services and develop policies that positively impact the work environment.

The primary functions of the Center for American Nurses are:

* to give personal and professional voice to nurses

* to promote education and support of nurses on issues and trends

* to provide services and communication with constituent members

* to identify and respond to trends using a knowledge-based foundation

* to promote and provide leadership and mentoring

* to conduct, evaluate and support research.

The Center for American Nurses will have three membership categories

1. Full members (two votes in Governing Council)

* Those state nurses associations with at least 90% of their members exclusively using workplace advocacy strategies.

* A separate structure within a state nurses association which provides workplace advocacy strategies to at least 50% of the total CMA membership who are not represented by nursing collective bargaining.

2. Affiliate members (one vote on issues in Governing Council)

* A separate structure within a state nurses association which provides workplace advocacy strategies to less than 50% of the total CMA membership who are not represented by collective bargaining.

* Specialty nursing organizations

* Health care associations

3. Associate member (voice, but no vote in Governing Council)

* An individual member of a state nurses association who is not represented by collective bargaining and is eligible for membership in CAN, but the CMA has not declared its membership.

* An individual member of a state nurses association who is not represented by collective bargaining, but whose state primary strategy is collective bargaining.

* An individual who is not a member of a state nurses assodation and is not represented by collective bargaining.

Copyright Alabama State Nurses' Association Sep-Nov 2003
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