The 34,000-member National Federation of Nurses voted Feb. 7 to affiliate with the AFT, whose 1.5 million members include 48,000 nurses. The NFN is active in Montana, Ohio, Oregon and Washington state. The executive board of the 11,577-member Washington State Nurses Association voted Feb. 16 to affiliate with the AFT. Over the next several weeks, state affiliates in Ohio and Oregon will conduct their own formal ratification process. The Montana Nurses Association has approved a historic affiliation agreement with the AFT. The MNA also announced a tentative two-year agreement for nurses working at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital. The 240-member bargaining unit has been working without a contract since December.
“The affiliations with the AFT come at a time when nurses are uniting their voices to deal with rapid changes in the healthcare industry and the effective implementation of the Affordable Care Act,” Weingarten says. “These affiliations represent a vote of confidence in the AFT as a union with a proven track record of standing up for professionals.”
