Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) secured the endorsement of the country’s largest nurses union, National Nurses United, the union announced on Tuesday.
The massive union, which boasts of 150,000 members nationwide, announced its intention to issue its formal endorsement on Friday:
Jean Ross, NNU’s president, said Sanders understands what it takes to “bring about fundamental change.”
“For nurses, our solidarity is a matter of life or death for our patients. We need a president who makes it easier for us to stand together and hold our employers accountable for putting people above profits,” Ross said.
“Bernie Sanders is leading all the candidates on labor, with his Workplace Democracy Act and as a cosponsor of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act,” she added.
The union also supports Sanders’ radical proposals such as Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and “free” college.
NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo praised Sanders for elevating Medicare for All “to the national mainstream” in 2016, “where it has advanced to a top 2020 presidential race issue.”
“Nurses are beyond tired of watching our patients suffer and die needlessly, simply due to inability to pay, and we know Bernie Sanders is, and has been, leading on Medicare for All through his advocacy and Senate legislation,” Castillo said:
“Nurses are the backbone of American health care,” Sanders wrote, thanking the union for its endorsement.
“I want to thank @NationalNurses for not only the strong support of our campaign—but for the courage they have shown in helping to lead the effort for a Medicare for All program,” he continued. “Together we will make health care a right”:
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