California Nurses Association

About CNA

Founded in 1903, the California Nurses Association is a premiere organization of registered nurses and one of the nation’s fastest growing labor and professional organizations in the U.S. with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California.

CNA 101

Your guide to joining the RN movement. Learn more about our program, our history, and how we are organized.

CHEU

The Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union is an independent union formed in 2001 by hospital employees to win strong union representation, better benefits, and improved conditions for employees and patients. It is an affiliate of CNA.

Press releases

Nurses on picket line hold signs "Trust Nurses, Not A.I."

Nurses applaud passage of critical A.I. bills out of committee

Union nurses applauded the progress of two CNA-sponsored bills out of committee to establish guardrails on the use of A.I. in health care. These bills would protect patient safety and privacy, maintain the integrity of nursing practice, and ensure that technology companies and health care corporations cannot escape accountability amidst the onslaught of untested and unproven A.I. tools.

April 23, 2026

Student nurses looking at work together.

Bill that helps transition ADN nurses to employment moves forward

Union nurses with California Nurses Association celebrated the forward movement of a bill they sponsored that would diversify and expand the nursing profession as well as ensure communities across California have nurses to provide care through establishment of a state program to help new nurse graduates of Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs find jobs.

April 23, 2026

Nurses condemn California Assembly’s failure to advance CalCare

California Nurses Association members condemn the California State Assembly’s failure to advance A.B. 1900, the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, also known as CalCare, at a time when health care is needed more urgently than ever before. CalCare is a comprehensive, high-quality single-payer program that would be many Californians’ only lifeline for care.

April 20, 2026

Large group of people outisde, holding CalCare signs and banner

Nurses urge California Assembly to advance CalCare

The failure to advance A.B. 1900 shows a lack of leadership and a capitulation to corporate health care interests. CalCare is a comprehensive, high-quality single-payer program that would be many Californians’ only lifeline for care. Nurses remain relentless in their pursuit to guarantee health care as a human right in the state.

April 17, 2026

All CNA press releases

Organize with the California Nurses Association to improve workplace standards through collective bargaining, reform national health care legislation, and make a difference for you and your patients.

Videos

2024 California Nurses Association lobby day

Hundreds of registered nurses rallied and marched in Sacramento, Calif. before meeting with legislators about nurses’ key issues and priority legislation.

Safe Staffing Ratios Protect Patient and Nurses

Safe RN ratios have been proven to improve the quality of care and nurse recruitment and retention in California hospitals, yet understaffing is a major issue RNs struggle with every day. Together, we can change that.

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