Print This Page Email This Page

A force for patients and her Union

Carmen CruiseA registered nurse who spent her 27-year career at Kern Medical Center caring for patients, Carmen Cruise was elected as SEIU 521's first president with this as her candidate statement: 

With members leading the process, we developed democratic bylaws to govern our Union. We have stated our purpose and set our goals. We are in motion. My name is Carmen Cruise and I am asking to be your President.

Carmen died on May 11. Share your thoughts here.

News coverage | CarmenCruiseNA Nurse Alliance Flyer

Photo slideshow - Celebratory picnic in Carmen's honor: May 21


Nurse Action - SB 1111

April 23 - An item of great concern for nurses is SB 1111, a "reform" bill that would actually undermine the work of the BRN. We are making an impact with our calls and letters telling our concerns about SB1111. SB 1111 (Negrete McLeod) failed on Friday in Senate Business and Professions Committee.

Letter to the BRN

This letter was sent on January 13 by your Nurse Alliance of California:
LetterBRNJan13-2010 Letter to BRN, Jan. 13, 2010



Nurse Alliance Roundup, Jan. 8, 2010

Modern Healthcare: Meaningful use' criteria released and more...

Nurse Alliance of California Meeting, Jan. 2010

Meeting held on Jan. 5th. Notes taken by Ernest Harris, Carmen Morales, RN, and Carmen Cruise, RN.

Make Healthy New Year Wishes a Reality

Kern Courts Call Feinstein

This Holiday Season, Take Action to Make Healthy New Year Wishes a Reality.
Call 1-866-308-6259 Today--Tell Senator Dianne Feinstein, "Give Americans a vote for real health insurance reform that makes care affordable for everyone."

Nurse Alliance Roundup Dec. 4, 2009

"They take on one of us; they take on all of us," commented SEIU Vice President Dian Palmer, RN.

521 Members Tell Congress to Vote for Healthcare Reform

FC-Rally11042009-sm


Nov. 5 -
Members of SEIU 521 joined other union members and community coalition partners in a march and rally for healthcare reform in Fresno encouraging members of Congress to vote for the House bill that will bring affordable, quality health care to millions of uninsured working Americans.

Passersby honked in support of the members.

Breaking: Victory in U.S. House

Click here for more information about the healthcare reform.

Oct. 20 Call-In Day a Huge Success

Kern Medical Center Healthcare workers calling Senators


Amazing! Our Time to Deliver call-in day generated 317,015 calls to our Representatives and Senators beating the previous one day top call volume of 70,000.

The Huffington Post reported that Congress was "Getting completely crushed" with calls for healthcare reform.

Nurse Alliance H1N1 Training in LA

Nurse Training 10/15/2009

Nurses from three SEIU locals came together in Los Angeles for a "Train the Trainer" class on H1N1 on Oct. 15, 2009.

Do you have a layoff notice?

Santa Clara Co Layoff Notices

County Workers Agree to No Pay Raise, 100+ Jobs Still Cut
"East Valley Public Health stood together in solidarity wearing pink to show support to those that received layoff notices and those that did not. In a department as close as ours, where we have become more like family, these notices affected us all."
-- Velia Esquivel-Ferguson, East Valley Public Health

Public Health Work During Swine Flu Highlighted in Media

Tim Hill with PHN T-shirt

Read the San Jose Mercury News report, Nurse Gloria De La Rosa's letter-to-the-editor to the Monterey County Herald, and listen to KLIV podcast interview with PHN Timothy Hill:
 KLIV- 1590 AM Podcast 05.06.2009 KLIV- 1590 AM Podcast

NY Times: Settlement in Nurses' Antitrust Suit

A hospital network in the Albany area has agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle a class-action antitrust lawsuit in which nurses asserted that hospitals in the area had illegally conspired to hold down their wages.

The Role of Nurses in Hospital Quality Improvement

As the nation's hospitals face increasing demands to participate in a wide range of quality improvement activities, the role and influence of nurses in these efforts is also increasing, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).

Local 521 Nurses Give Birth to New Generation of Leaders

A dozen nurses from SEIU Local 521 gathered for a Nurse Leadership Conference in Monterey on October 3-4 and formed the SEIU 521 Nurse Alliance of California (NAC).

SEIU Nurses Earn Honors for Service

Nurse Alliance Morales

Kern Medical Center nurse practitioner and diabetes educator Carmen Morales was honored for her service as a representative on the Board for the last six years.

California Nurse Alliance Sets Strategic Goals, New Leadership

The Nurse Alliance of CA Steering Committee met in Oakland, CA on August 4th and set long-term strategic goals and gained new leadership.

Nurses Fighting Public Health Cuts

A group of Local 521 nurse members traveled to Sacramento in early May to work with the SEIU Nurse Alliance of California to identify and solve problems affecting nurses and to improve the environment of care, and thus, patient outcomes.

Local 521 Nurses Stand for Quality Care

SEIU Nurses are proud of our track record and all that we've accomplished to help the public health care system win wages, benefits and laws that help the whole health care team. But it’s not just our future we’re fighting for...

Articles for Nurses

Nursing Leadership from Bedside to Boardroom
RWJF-GallupPollJan2010 RWJF, Gallup Poll, Jan. 2010

RN unions = better health care
Hospitals with unionized registered nurses have better AMI mortality rates

SEIU Calling on State and Local Health Departments to Adopt Preventive Measures
H1N1 Important: H1N1 Virus Update

ATD, Zoonotic Disease Protections Adopted 
Cal-OSHA-ReporterVol36No21 Cal-OSHA Reporter Vol. 36, No. 21

Read "How Nurse Leaders in Policymaking Positions are Transforming Public Health":
rwjfsept2008 Charting Nursings' Future



Anger and disbelief at Governor’s proposed cuts

Gov. Schwarzenegger proposes to eliminate welfare-to-work program known as CalWORKS; healthcare for low-income children; financial aid for college students, and more. "This is not my California," said Assembly Budget Chair Noreen Evans.

Gov. Schwarzenegger: Home Healthcare Is Not A Throw-Away!

48-hour Vigil Homecare

May 28 - SEIU homecare members closed their 48-hour vigil with a press conference on the steps of the California statehouse to protest drastic budget cuts which would drive homecare workers into poverty and force seniors and people with disabilities into more restrictive and costly institutional settings.