Welcome National Federation of Nurses

It will be my honor to speak today to the members of the National Federation of Nurses.

They are in Washington, DC for an orientation because they have voted to affiliate with the American Federation of Teachers. 

AFT asked me to come to Washington to tell them the story of how we organized Backus, against great odds.

The NFN and the AFT affiliation brings together two of the prominent nurse's unions.  NFN and AFT together represent 82,000 RNs and many more LPNs, Technicians, and other health care professionals.  

Together, the entire Healthcare Division is a voice in the ever changing world of health care reform, backed by our bothers and sisters in education and public service.

It is an honor to come to know these fine nurses, to spend some time with them, and to tell them, on behalf of the Backus Federation of Nurses, AFT Connecticut, and the American Federation of Teachers..... we are bothers and sisters in the struggle to provide care for our patients, our students,and the public.

It is, of course, always an honor to represent the my fellow nurses of Backus.

I will tell them how we struggled, how we won, and how we are now learning to use your voice.

I will tell them that when cutbacks started to effect our patients, we stood tall and said ENOUGH!

I will tell them that we were successful because we worked hard and had the support of the community, labor, politicians, and others, and the expert guidance of the leadership and staff of AFT, AFT Connecticut, and our sister Locals.

Most important, I will tell them that we in Connecticut, stand with our brothers and sisters in Montana, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington.

Injury to one is injury to all.

Welcome my brothers and sisters of the National Federation of Nurses.