A group from Local 436 joined 400 colleagues from across the nation in April to search for solutions to the workplace challenges they face as nurses.

Fifteen members of United Federation of Nurses & Epidemiologists Local 436 attended the 8th National Nurses Congress, which was held April 21-23 in Chicago.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to share our experiences,” said Local 436 President Gloria Acevedo about the convention, which was held by the United Nurses of America. UNA represents more than 50,000 nurses and is an affiliate of AFSCME, DC 37’s parent union.

At the meeting, the nurses dealt with such subjects as needle safety, globalization of health care, health screening, clinic work and stress management. Workshops covered legislation, political action, negotiating and organizing new members.

Local 436 Treasurer Marilyn Moore said she particularly enjoyed the roundtable discussions in which nurses were grouped according to their specialties. “The roundtables were something new this time,” said Ms. Moore, who has attended all eight UNA conventions.

Ms. Acevedo, who is a member of UNA’s advisory board, said she liked the convention’s emphasis on organizing and getting members to identify more with the union and become more involved with politics. The emphasis on activism was reflected by the convention’s theme, “It’s Up to Us!”

“When I was in nursing school, they taught us that we were professionals and should be in an association, not in a union,” Ms. Acevedo said. “The conference helped us identify ourselves as workers and made clear it that unions help the nursing profession.”

In an AFSCME survey at the convention, nurses cited staff shortages and resulting stress and fatigue on the job as threats to adequate patient care. On the other hand, they said the union has a positive impact on their job through grievance procedures and protections against harassment.