National Nurses United (NNU), the country’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses, today blasted the Trump administration for trying to strip U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) federal employees of their collective bargaining rights, much like it has attempted to do with NNU’s members who work for the Veterans Health Administration (VA). 

Trump is not only trying to illegally bust HHS and VA workers’ unions, said NNU, but he is jeopardizing the public health of the American people by trying to suppress their voices and ability to advocate for themselves and the public. The HHS workers’ union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), represents workers at many HHS agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Administration for Children and Families.

“We stand in the strongest solidarity with federal workers at all these agencies,” said Mary Turner, RN and president of NNU. “Your fight is our fight. We reject Trump’s illegal actions and will continue to advocate for our right to protect ourselves, our patients, and public health. Lives are on the line. We want all federal employees — actually all workers — to remember that their authority and power does not come from or get wiped out by a piece of paper: It comes from your unity and what you are willing to fight for together.”

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.