CAR:NG Conference at Rutgers: Nurses Gathering- December 1, 2016

On December 1-2, 2016, SMLR, Jobs With Justice, and a coalition of labor and community organizations shared workplace best practices with 14 different union nurses from across the United States during the two-day CAR:NG Conference at Rutgers: Nurses Gathering. 

This was perhaps the first meeting of its kind, where rank and file working nurses came together to share experiences and learn about current and future challenges and how to face them. The event encouraged nurses from different unions to learn from and draw strength from one another.  There were approximately 90 attendees, primarily RNs, as well as local and international union staff. 

The sessions covered a wide range of topics from what to expect from health care policy under the Trump administration to preventing workplace violence in healthcare. Additional topics included bargaining for the common good, building stronger unions, healthcare industry consolidation, public health crises (climate change), mindfulness, and conflict resolution led by SMLR LSER faculty. Guest speakers shared experiences from multi-union legislative coalitions and discussed the abusive overprescription of opioids in the VA and union-community coalitions. 

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with most participants clamoring for a repeat event next year. 

View the event flyer.

Conference Presenters and Resources

• Presenter: Cecelia Gilligan, Leto, Project Director, NJ Work and Environment Council
• Bargaining for the Common Good in Healthcare - presentation by Marilyn Sneiderman, Director of SMLR's Center for Innovation in Worker Organization (CIWO); Candice Owley, R.N., President of Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and Chair of AFT Nurses and Health Professionals
• Healthcare Consolidation and Research - presentation by Donna Phillips, Alaska Nurses Assoc. and Kyle Arnone, AFT Nurses and Health Professionals
• Nursing and Public Health Crises - presentation by Ashley Conway (see below)
• Shedding Light on Bullying in Nursing - presentation by Dr. Donna Fountain, Kean University
• Words That Work for Collective Bargaining - handouts by Liz Cattaneo

This activity was planned and implemented by Rutgers School of Nursing, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, and Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations. Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.  This activity is awarded 10.5 contact hours (60 minute CH).