Massachusetts Nurses Association Endorses Maura Healey for Governor

CANTON, Mass., May 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts Nurses Association Board of Directors – 27 elected nurses and healthcare professionals representing the largest union and professional association of registered nurses and healthcare professionals in the Commonwealth – has endorsed Attorney General Maura Healey for Governor of Massachusetts.

"Maura Healey is a true champion for workers and workers' families," said Katie Murphy, ICU RN, and president of the MNA. "The MNA is proud to endorse Maura Healey for Governor because she has always had an open door for frontline healthcare workers. She actively listens to our concerns, empathizes with the challenges we face, and works hard to help nurses and healthcare professionals provide quality care for our patients."

"I am the proud daughter and granddaughter of nurses and their empathy and resilience stay with me to this day," said Healey. "Nurses show us the meaning of hard work and compassion every day. It is a special honor to have MNA's endorsement. And I will be a Governor committed to respecting and honoring the tremendous value, capacity and dignity of the work they do."

Healey, the daughter of a union nurse, has long been a supporter of MNA nurses and healthcare professionals. She was the keynote speaker at the MNA Labor Leader Summit in 2016, was an early and stalwart ally of St. Vincent Hospital nurses during their historic 2021 strike, and as Attorney General has worked closely with the MNA and its members through the Policy & Government Relations Division, the Health Care and Fair Competition Bureau, and the Fair Labor Division on a variety of issues.

Healey also strongly supports workers' collective bargaining rights. When the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to "right to work" status for public employees, Healey ensured workers were fully protected under Massachusetts law, declaring in July 2018, "My office will always act to protect working families, ensure safe working conditions, and defend the right of workers to organize." Healey has also fought for greater transparency in situations where employers hire third-party anti-union contractors.

As noted in her statement to the MNA about her candidacy for Governor, Healey has a strong record of opposition to hospital consolidation when it would increase costs or compromise quality. She recently released a report on how the proposed Mass General Brigham expansion would drive up costs – an expansion that the MNA also opposed as part of a coalition to protect community care. In addition, Healey opposed the proposed merger between then Partners Healthcare and South Shore Hospital in 2015.

"As Attorney General, Maura Healey has not been afraid to take on tough issues and tough opponents, much like MNA nurses and healthcare professionals," Murphy said. "Healey stands up for what is right and will bring that same tenacity on behalf of working people to the Office of Governor."

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck Massachusetts, Healey was quick to act, helping coordinate resources for frontline healthcare workers and first responders including personal protective equipment guidance, priority testing, alternative housing options, free and discounted meals, self-care and emergency childcare.

Healey has also been a powerful advocate for equality, before and during her time as Attorney General. She brought the first successful challenge to the anti-LGBTQ+ Defense of Marriage Act, and has worked to fight bullying in schools, protect women's rights to accessible, reproductive healthcare, and combat discrimination in lending and housing. Healey has advocated for legislation to protect transgender people from discrimination in public places, a campaign that MNA nurses and healthcare professionals joined as well.

Since its founding in 1903, the MNA has been the most powerful and effective voice on nursing and healthcare in the Commonwealth. The MNA created the Nurse Practice Act, the RN license designation, developed a uniform curriculum for the education of nurses, wrote the first code of ethics for nurses and passed, or helped to pass, nearly every state law governing nursing practice including the law allowing nurses to unionize in Massachusetts.

Today, the MNA represents more than 24,000 nurses and healthcare professionals working in 85 health care facilities, including 51 acute care hospitals, as well as a growing number of nurses and health professionals working in schools, visiting nurse associations, public health departments and state agencies.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association