National Nurses United Endorses Bernie Sanders for President

[HerbChestnut]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/us/politics/bernie-sanders-nurses-endorsement.html

WASHINGTON — The country’s largest nurses’ union will endorse Senator Bernie Sanders for president this week, a significant boost to his campaign from a major ally in the fight for his signature health care proposal.

The union, National Nurses United, fervently supported Mr. Sanders’s last bid for the White House in 2016, and its members have been significant players in Democratic politics since then, showing up in red T-shirts to support Mr. Sanders’s progressive allies in intraparty battles. They have also canvassed neighborhoods in swing congressional districts, urging voters to get behind “Medicare for all,” Mr. Sanders’s plan for a nationalized health insurance system.

“We know what we have done and what it takes to bring about fundamental change, and it’s massive organizing and a mass movement,” said Jean Ross, a co-president of the union. “Of all the candidates, Bernie is the one who understands that.”

The union plans to formally endorse Mr. Sanders on Friday at a news conference in Oakland, Calif.

[Xandric77]

1. They endorsed him in 2015

No surprise.

[HerbChestnut]

3. Not surprising, but still a big deal.

[Hoyt]

4. To put that in perspective, National Nurses United membership is roughly 5.24% of RNs in USA.

[Act_of_Reparation]

5. To put that in perspective, it is the largest union of RN's in the US.

[Xandric77]

6. That's relative perspective

I like the statistic regarding nurses as a whole.
if all nurses unions are tiny, then being the largest isn't a big deal.

[HerbChestnut]

7. 5.24% is just below the average union size in the private sector

and represents over 150,000 total members. More importantly, NNU deploys members across the country to canvass for their endorsed candidates. People considering who to vote for will see registered nurses (in their red shirts) advocating for M4A and Bernie, which is a powerful message.

[ritapria]

9. Hear, Hear

[Act_of_Reparation]

8. If you're cynical, sure.

I mean, I'm not a prospective Bernie Sanders voter, but I'm not so upset about him getting an endorsement that I immediately take to the interwebs to dismiss its importance.

Frankly, I'm glad Nurses United is involved in this process.

[corbettkroehler]

18. I Appreciate Your Willingness To Remain Rational

Too many Bernie bashers enjoy spending their time trying to turn every piece of good news for the Sanders campaign into something negative.

I don't do that when a candidate other than Sanders receives good news. In some cases, I even congratulate that other candidate right here.

[George II]

11. Actually it's less that 4%. They have 150,000 members, there are 3.8M Registered Nurses in the US.

[HerbChestnut]

13. The Bureau of Labor Statistics disagrees.

https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291141.htm

[George II]

15. American Association of Colleges of Nursing agrees.

https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Fact-Sheet

Nursing is the nation's largest healthcare profession, with more than 3.8 million registered nurses (RNs) nationwide

[PhoenixDem]

10. No kidding?

[HerbChestnut]

12. I know it's hilarious, right?

The largest union of registered nurses endorses the candidate that shares their views on healthcare! So funny!

[George II]

14. Is he going to reject their Super PAC's financial support?

[OilemFirchen]

16. In the 2016 election cycle, the PAC spent 96.2% of their receipts on Senator Sanders.

$4,788,647.

https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/indexpend.php?cmte=C00490375&cycle=2016&txt=

To pretend that they are anything other than a Sanders PAC oughtta be embarrassing.

[George II]

17. Correct, and they have as grim a record with their endorsements as Justice Democrats....

....and other associated organizations.

They spent money on 13 candidates back then, 11 lost (85%), and one of the two winners was an incumbent.

[W_HAMILTON]

20. This was the first question that popped into my mind as well.

[George II]

21. In 2016 they spent $4.7M in independent expenditures supporting him.

[Uncle Joe]

19. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread HerbChestnut.

[TidalWave46]

22. While their membership is pretty small...

Sanders will benefit from the millions their Super PAC will spend on him.

[LanternWaste]

23. The Sanders campaign could certainly use their PAC dollars to assist his dismal polling.

Though I doubt they'll ever refer to PAC money as such.