Hundreds of nurses from throughout Northern California will join a student rally at U.C. Berkeley today as part of the Million Student March national day of action, the California Nurses Association announced today. The national day of action was inspired by Sen. Bernie Sanders' idea that the goal of free public college and university could be achieved if one million students took to the streets and continued to march until it was won.

Registered nurses from Iowa and several nearby states will join Drake Students for Sen. Bernie Sanders for a rally in Des Moines Saturday, prior to the second Democratic debate. Nurses, who will be on hand from Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas as well as Iowa, will also canvass for Sanders prior to the rally, which is scheduled at Drake Park near the Drake University debate site.

Hundreds of nurses from throughout Northern California will join a student rally at U.C. Berkeley Thursday as part of the Million Student March national day of action, the California Nurses Association announced today.

In membership meetings held last week, Contra Costa County nurses voted overwhelmingly—by 95 percent—to ratify a new contract, the California Nurses Association announced today. “Our nurses have shown, with this vote, that what we fought for at the bargaining table was finally achieved,” says Farina Khan, Emergency Department RN.

National Nurses United congratulated President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, a project nurses have long opposed for its imminent threat to public health and its contribution to accelerating the climate crisis. “This is an important decision that will protect thousands of Americans who would face significant health hazards from the transport and refining of the dangerous tar sands oil that Keystone was proposed to carry, and it adds momentum to the fight against the harmful effects of climate change,” said NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro.

“Despite the promises and reassurances offered by the Obama administration, the final text is even worse than prior reports had predicted. No wonder it was concealed for so long,” said RoseAnn DeMoro, NNU Executive Director and a vice-president of the AFL-CIO. “We will continue to demand that Congress reject this fatally flawed agreement, and hold accountable those legislators who vote against the public interest.”