Good job Andy ya moron

Nurses from eight unions band together
By WILL LESTER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- Nurses from eight AFL-CIO unions are banding together in hopes of increasing their political and organizing strength, leaders announced Thursday.

The move foreshadows more coalitions within specific industries as organized labor attempts to regain clout.

About 200,000 nurses, describing themselves as RNs Working Together, are bidding to become the first union members to form such a group - called an industry coordinating committee - within the AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO executive council will vote on recognizing the nurses' group during its winter meeting in San Diego next week.

"This is valuable because nurses are represented all over the country by many different unions, there's so much we need to do collectively that we're doing individually," said Kathy Sackman, president of the United Nurses Association of California. "This gives us a more powerful voice, gives us more clout politically."

After a difficult year that saw several large unions break away from the AFL-CIO, the labor federation is taking numerous steps to reinvigorate the labor movement.

On a separate front, leaders of the independent National Education Association, with 2.7 million members, and the AFL-CIO are discussing an arrangement that would allow local affiliates to join the labor federation, officials confirmed. The NEA would remain separate from the AFL-CIO at the national level, but local unions could apply for membership in central labor councils, which are active in local politics and organizing. Officials with the NEA and AFL-CIO plan to formally announce their plans early next week.

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