To Protect Patients, Uphold Standards, Fight Employer Attacks. Blast Efforts to Roll Back Patient Ratios, Erode Contract Protections. With escalating healthcare industry attacks on patient care protections and living standards for registered nurses and other hospital employees, often aided by a surrogate wearing a union label who cosponsored an effort to suspend California’s nurse-to-patient ratio law, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United today announced the affiliation of the National Union of Healthcare Workers.