Though some nurses have bargained collectively through their state nurses associations since World War II, RNs have not always had their own national union and voice. To learn more  about nurses and organizing, read the 1996 book A Seat at the Table,  available here in PDF format (50 Mb). UAN was founded in 1999 by activist nurses within the American Nurses Association (ANA) who believed in the creation of a powerful, national, independent and unified voice for union nurses.

UAN held its first National Labor Assembly annual meeting—made up entirely of staff nurse delegates—in 2000. There, delegates elected the first UAN Executive Council officers and launched a year-long public awareness campaign on the nurse staffing crisis, vaulting the issue to national attention.

UAN brought the voice of registered nurses to the AFL-CIO as a chartered affiliate of the Federation in 2001. UAN President Cheryl Johnson, RN, serves on the AFL-CIO Executive Council and Executive Committee—the only nurse in either leadership group.

Since then, UAN has grown to 102,000 nurse members in 27 state affiliates. UAN has become the national voice for RNs in hospitals, to the public and the media, to legislators and more.

In 2005, the 102,000 members of the United American Nurses celebrated their fifth anniversary as the national union of, by and for staff nurses. View the 10-minute video, UAN: the Power of Nurses, about the foundation and growth of the UAN. To purchase your  own copy of the VHS tape, DVD or  companion UAN history book, contact UAN at uaninfo@uannurse.org or 301-628-5118.

View the Movie Clip (44Mb)

View the Movie Clip (8Mb)

View the Movie Clip (9Mb)