Social Justice Leadership Program

Submitted by ADonahue on April 21, 2023
“To protect our patients, to  make the nursing profession  safer, and to make healthcare  a human right for all, we must  fight for social justice. This  fight will only make us  stronger!”   – Cathy Kennedy, RN Vice President, NNU President, CNA/NNOC

The Social Justice Leadership Program is an opportunity to level up your leadership and build our union power to fight for social justice by becoming a skilled social justice facilitator! 

Sign up here!

  • Social justice facilitators receive comprehensive instruction on urgent social justice issues of our time. 
  • Facilitators hold courageous conversations with nurses across our union’s membership about racial justice, gender justice, and other urgent social justice issues.  
  • Facilitators work with labor representatives to organize and lead social justice workshops with their coworkers.

“The Social Justice Leadership Program prepared me to name, understand, and address racial and gender injustice. It gave me a lot to consider when advocating for my patients and providing the highest level of care. All nurses should consider participating!”

    - Jennifer Jean-Pierre, RN


What can you expect from the Social Justice Leadership Program?

  • 8 hours of required instruction led by the Social Justice & Equity division with fellow nurse leaders (virtual and in-person opportunities available). 
  • You will leave with familiarity and practice leading a 1-hour racial justice and 1-hour gender justice workshop! (more information on each workshop below)
  • All participants are expected to collaborate with their labor rep to plan and lead a minimum of 4 hours of workshops (but ideally more!) with nurses in your hospital system.

For more information, see the program brochure and/or email SocialJusticeEquityInfo@NationalNursesUnited.org


Overview of workshops that you will learn to lead as a Social Justice Facilitator

Nurses holding signs "Union Women are Powerful Women"

Workshop 1: Gender Justice for Union Nurses

In this interactive nurse-led workshop, RNs discuss how gender oppression affects nurses and our patients. We identify how union nurses and our patients have experienced gender inequity in our hospitals, deepen our understanding of what gender is and how it shapes the health care industry, and identify ways that union nurses can confront gender oppression in our facilities and beyond. This is a 1-hour discussion-based workshop. It is not a continuing education class.

Nurses hold signs "Racism is a Public Health Crisis"

Workshop 2: Racial Justice for Union Nurses

In this interactive nurse-led workshop, nurses discuss the effects of structural racism on patient care and nurses. Participants practice naming how public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, social norms, and economic and political power perpetuate racial inequities and build our collective understanding of how race operates in health care settings. Together, we will identify ways that union nurses can work to overcome racism and promote racial justice. This is a 1-hour discussion-based workshop. It is not a continuing education class.

Are you interested in taking a workshop but don’t want to lead it? Contact your labor rep or email SocialJusticeEquityInfo@NationalNursesUnited.org to find out about participating in nurse-led workshops in your area.