Urge superdelegates to vote the will of Golden State Democratic voters

On Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, students, registered nurses, and other union and community members will rally at the California Democrats State Convention to show support for presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders.

One key goal Saturday is to urge California Democratic superdelegates to pledge to honor the will of the state’s Democratic voters should Sanders win their popular vote in the Golden State’s June primaries.

What: Rally in support of Sen. Bernie Sanders for president

When: Saturday, Feb. 27

Where: San Jose, CA

For more information, contact:  Don Nielsen, (559) 647-7732

More than 2,000 Democratic Party activists, legislators, leaders, and superdelegates will be convening in San Jose. California represents a total of 546 delegate votes toward the Democratic Party nomination, with 71 of those being superdelegates. To win the party’s nomination, 2,383 votes are needed.

“Nurses are rallying for Bernie Sanders because he is the best candidate, with the best platform, who best represents our values of caring, compassion and community,” said Michelle Gutierrez Vo, a California Nurses Association/National Nurses United RN board member who will be speaking at Saturday’s rally.

“And, as the polls have repeatedly shown, Bernie Sanders is also the Democratic candidate most likely to beat Donald Trump in November,” Vo said.

CNA and the national nursing union with which it is affiliated, National Nurses United, were among the first union endorsers of Sanders and have been campaigning tirelessly to elect him to the White House: Nurses are reaching out to voters across the country on their #BernieBus, phone banking, holding house parties, attending rallies and campaign events, and canvassing door to door almost every weekend in swing states with early primaries and caucuses.

“What we’re doing, it’s working!” said Vo. “People are realizing that they have to step up and take ownership in order to change things.

“Now is a golden opportunity to really prioritize, finally, the needs of the 99%. As nurses, we see every day that people are just in survival mode. Nobody can afford food, shelter, clothing, medicine, healthcare, and education. And as responsible social and patient advocates, we can’t just watch it and do nothing about it — especially when we've identified Bernie Sanders as the vehicle for political revolution for the people. It’s exciting for the nurses, and it's exciting for me, because this is what we've been working toward for years.”

National Nurses United is the largest union of nurses in the country, with 185,000 members in 50 states, and was the first national organization to endorse Sanders, in August 2015.