National Nurses United, the largest union group for the profession, has given its endorsement to Bernie Sanders. This is the first endorsement for the Sanders campaign from a national trade union and draws a contrast between Sanders and Hillary Clinton.
With 185,000 members in the United States, the organization announced the endorsement at a Bernie Sanders campaign rally in Oakland, California.
“I applaud you; you work hard every day but you understand that we have to do more to provide quality care that people need and for you to do your jobs in the way you want to see,” Sanders said, thanking the group. “You do not want to see patients not being able to afford the prescription drugs being written. You do not want to see people hesitating to walk into an office because they don’t have health insurance or because the deductibles are too high.”
“We have to change boldly and fundamentally the priorities of our nation so that every American can experience the right to live with dignity and not so that almost all of our wealth and income is going to the top one percent,” said Sanders.