Large group of nurses inside holding banner "California Nurses Association"

About CNA

Founded in 1903, the California Nurses Association is a premiere organization of registered nurses and one of the nation’s fastest growing labor and professional organizations in the U.S. with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California.

Collage of nurses

CNA 101

Your guide to joining the RN movement. Learn more about our program, our history, and how we are organized.

CHEU

CHEU

The Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union is an independent union formed in 2001 by hospital employees to win strong union representation, better benefits, and improved conditions for employees and patients. It is an affiliate of CNA.

Press releases

California nurses hold signs that read "Protect Democracy."

CNA/NNOC statement on redistricting efforts in Democratic-held states

California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee fully supports efforts by Governor Gavin Newsom to counterbalance President Trump and the Republican Party’s election-rigging schemes ahead of the 2026 midterms and encourages leaders of Democratic-held states to respond similarly with effective redistricting plans.
Large group of nurses outside CA Capitol building, CNA/NNU logos

Kaiser San Rafael nurses to protest clinic layoffs that will delay and deprive patients of care

Registered nurses who work at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael facilities will hold a rally on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025 to protest Kaiser’s plans to lay off 42 RNs and NPs from their outpatient clinics despite the health care giant posting nearly $13 billion in profits last year.
Panel at town hall in front of banner "Fund Care Not Billionaires"

Nurses and labor, communities allies vow to fight back against Medicaid cuts

At a town hall on Thursday, registered nurses with California Nurses Association/National Nurses United – along with local elected officials and leaders and members of community organizations from Bakersfield and the Central Valley – vowed to take on the elected officials and corporations that are destroying public programs like Medicaid in order to fund tax cuts for billionaires.
Nurses at DC rally against Medicaid cuts

Nurses to host Bakersfield town hall to discuss community response to Medicaid cuts

Registered nurses with California Nurses Association/National Nurses United are hosting a town hall on Thursday, August 14, in Bakersfield, California, to discuss strategies that Bakersfield and communities in the Central Valley can adopt, in response to the Trump administration’s and U.S. Representative David Valadao’s unprecedented attack on local health care access.
All CNA press releases

Organize with the California Nurses Association to improve workplace standards through collective bargaining, reform national health care legislation, and make a difference for you and your patients.

Videos

2024 California Nurses Association lobby day

Hundreds of registered nurses rallied and marched in Sacramento, Calif. before meeting with legislators about nurses’ key issues and priority legislation.

Safe Staffing Ratios Protect Patient and Nurses

Safe RN ratios have been proven to improve the quality of care and nurse recruitment and retention in California hospitals, yet understaffing is a major issue RNs struggle with every day. Together, we can change that.

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National Nurse Magazine

Large group of nurses in front of Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., holding banner "Nurses for Democracy"

Defending Our Right to Health: NNU nurses challenge attacks on our public health system

Lodi nurses win their first union contract

RN's at Adventist Health Lodi Memorial voted to ratify a four-year contract 

University of California RNs kick off 2025 bargaining

Critical round of talks as system dramatically expands

Long Beach and Alhambra nurses each hold one-day strikes

RNs strike for patient safety and fair contracts

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Campaigns

Nurses inside hosptial hold signs "Safe Staffing Saves Lives"

California Safe Staffing Ratios

A.B. 394, the CNA-sponsored safe staffing law, has multiple provisions designed to remedy unsafe staffing in acute-care facilities. California’s safe staffing standards are based on individual patient acuity, of which the RN ratios is the minimum.

Nurse inside car displaying sign "CalCare"

CalCare

The California Nurses Association is proud to sponsor Assembly Bill 1400, the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act (CalCare), which would guarantee comprehensive, high-quality health care to all California residents as a human right.

Sign "Nurses Heal California"

Supported California Legislation

CNA is committed to building a broad movement for transformative social change and confronting the powerful interests that dominate our economic and political system. Learn more about our supported and sponsored California legislation.