Thank the nation’s nurses as they do more with less to keep health care running

This is a remarkable time for America’s nurses. 

Demand for skilled nurses is up.  

For 25 years, the American public has ranked nursing as the top profession in the country when it comes to honesty and ethical standards.   

And the heroism they showed during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been forgotten. 

Yet all is not well. 

Devasting cuts to Medicaid are crippling hospitals and clinics, slashing what they get paid when they care for lower-income families, children and the elderly.  

Health care facilities are reducing staffing and being forced to shutter, which threatens access to medical care for all of us as well as health care jobs.  

And nurses are shouldering the burden, doing more with less and still finding ways to care for the sick.  

During National Nurses Week, AFSCME salutes our nation’s nursing corps, one of the linchpins of the health care system.  

Nurse short-staffing hurts society as a whole  

Here is how AFSCME member Blanca Rosa Castillo describes the situation: 

“For me personally, when we're short staffed, it's very hard for me to take care of my patients. We're doing discharge, educating the family, calling the pharmacy, and when we don't have enough staff, it harms us all and it delays care,” said Castillo, a member of the United Nurses Association of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, an AFSCME affiliate.  

In every hospital, clinic, school, doctor’s office, rehab center and nursing home there are nurses who provide life-saving care and help patients and their families navigate the complex health care system. 

Their work touches all of us. 

“We are one of the backbones of health care because we play so many different roles, not only as professionals, but as support staff,” said Castillo. “Even holding someone's hand is very important.” 

To honor their service, we encourage everyone to stand with AFSCME nurses as they fight for the staffing, resources and funding they need to deliver quality health care services. 

“From primary care to the emergency rooms, nurses are essential to America’s health system,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “The dedication, courage and skill they show every day is indescribable and awe-inspiring. And they know better than anyone what patients need to heal and what hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities need to thrive.” 

“Nurses deserve more than just recognition,” Saunders said. “They deserve safe staffing ratios, a protected voice on the job, and strong union contracts that ensure they can afford to live in the communities they serve. And they must be recognized as the professionals they are – not devalued by the administration’s attacks on their degree classification – so future generations can afford to pursue advanced degrees in nursing.” 

Saunders added: “That’s why AFSCME nurses everywhere are getting organized and continuing to fight — from the bargaining table to Capitol Hill — for a stronger health care system that serves patients and workers.” 

Fighting to care for their communities, fighting for respect  

Now that the billionaire-led administration and its anti-worker allies who control Congress have slashed Medicaid spending by about $1 trillion over the next decade, AFSCME nurses are focusing on lessening the impact of the cuts on their communities.  

Using their union voice, they are speaking up for patients and families by demanding working conditions that maintain and improve access to care. 

For example, UNAC/UHCP nurses and health care workers in California and Hawaii took to the picket lines to win contracts this year with Kaiser Permanente that improve patient care, strengthen patient and staff safety, and give caregivers more time with patients. 

Sometimes the fight isn’t just about resources, but respect. 

AFSCME members went to Capitol Hill last month to oppose a new Department of Education rule that will unfairly limit student loan amounts for nurses and other professionals. By excluding advanced degrees in nursing, social work, physical therapy and public health from “professional degree” status, loan amounts will be capped, making the higher degree less affordable. 

For the administration to devalue nurses and block their career path to more advanced training is disrespectful to nurses, and shortsighted for a country that has growing health care needs. AFSCME members support the LEAP Act sponsored by Rep. Tim Kennedy of New York, which would override the rule and protect student loans for advanced degrees in nursing and other public health professions. 

National Nurses Week is also a time to address workplace safety for nurses, who are subjected to incivility, bullying and violence on the job.  

In 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that more than 75% of all workplace violence nationwide is against health care workers, according to Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut.  

AFSCME members continue to speak out in support of the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. The bill, sponsored by Courtney and Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, would raise safety standards, strengthen enforcement and better protect nurses from workplace violence.