NNU will place nurse shoes near the White House to symbolize deaths;
project names of the more than 400 deceased nurses on the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., as part of Nurses Week

On International Nurses Day and the close out of Nurses Week, National Nurses United (NNU) on Wednesday, May 12, will host two D.C. actions to honor the more than 400 registered nurses who have died from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Within view of the White House, NNU nurses will place one pair of shoes for every RN who has died during this pandemic due to a lack of employer and federal government action to protect nurses and other health care workers from getting infected with Covid-19 at work. The action will also include reading of the names of each deceased nurse and remarks from NNU President Jean Ross, RN.

Later that evening, the names of each of the fallen nurses will also be projected onto the AFL-CIO building, which sits across from the White House.

NNU is urging the Biden administration to immediately issue an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases to require employers to protect employees at work. That standard was mandated by President Biden in a Jan. 21, 2021 executive order, but has still not been issued. The day’s events will coincide with International Nurses Day, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth, and a time to mark the contributions nurses make to society across the globe.

RN SHOES ACTION

• What: Honoring U.S. nurses who have died due to Covid-19
• When: Wednesday, May 12 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. ET
• Where: Projected on the AFL-CIO headquarters building, 815 Black Lives Matter Plaza NW, Washington, DC 20005
• Broadcast: The action can also be viewed on Facebook Live

AFL-CIO BUILDING PROJECTION

• What: Honoring U.S. nurses who have died due to Covid-19
• When: Wednesday, May 12 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. ET
• Where: Projected on the AFL-CIO headquarters building, 815 Black Lives Matter Plaza NW, Washington, DC 20005

NNU honors the more than 400 deceased nurses during this pandemic by continuing to strongly advocate for safe staffing levels, optimal personal protective equipment (PPE), the OSHA emergency temporary standard, and other infection control measures aimed at protecting patients, health care workers, and other essential workers across the nation.

“We stand united to honor our fallen nurses who were on the front line of this pandemic,” said NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo, RN. “These are more than just names projected on a building. These are our colleagues and friends, the hardworking nurses who spent each and every day protecting and caring for patients, even during a deadly pandemic. They made the ultimate sacrifice, and we promise to never forget them, but honor them as we continue fighting to protect the living.”

“We are grateful to be able to partner with the AFL-CIO in this event to honor the nurses who have died from Covid-19,” added Castillo. “These nurses have paid the ultimate price for the failure of our hospital employers and our government to protect them during this pandemic.”

“We are honoring our sisters and brothers, our siblings, who have fallen due to this deadly pandemic,” said Jean Ross, RN and a president of NNU. “We take this moment to celebrate the lives of these frontline workers, and promise to fight for improved working conditions to prevent more deaths from happening. One loss is too many.”

“The sacrifices that nurses across our country make every day is immeasurable. They have given their lives to protect our families and communities,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “Nurses are selfless heroes who should be honored every day. We will never forget those who gave their lives fighting this pandemic, and we will honor them by fighting for workplace safety protections that we all deserve.”

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 170,000 members nationwide.