Photo: National Nurses United

Press release from National Nurses United:

National Nurses United members, who have traveled from coast to coast to campaign for Sen. Bernie Sanders on a bright red #BernieBus, will make stops in Arcata and Eureka, Calif. on Wednesday, May 4. 

“The people of Humboldt County are certainly feeling the Bern, and as nurses, we know why,” said Lesley Ester—an RN at St. Joseph Hospital Eureka and a recently elected delegate for Bernie Sanders. “In this county alone, 20 percent of the residents still have no health insurance coverage. It means our patients are delaying necessary care, and we’re seeing them when they are more seriously ill. We also have Humboldt State University here, and we know how much students struggle with student debt. Bernie’s commitment to Medicare for all, to education for all, to creating a political system that works for all—these things really resonate with voters in this area.”

#BernieBus Stops for Wednesday, May 4

  • Noon: North Coast Co-Op, 811 I St., Arcata, CA 95521—Nurses meet with Humboldt State University students and local voters to discuss Bernie’s support for free education at all public colleges and universities.
  • 2:30 p.m: Eureka Old Town, 318 F St., Eureka, CA 95501—#BernieBus RNs meet with Humboldt County nurses.

NNU members have been talking to voters since last fall, recently in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky and Oregon. On Tuesday, the #BernieBus stopped at a rally in Portland, where nurses joined Senator Jeff Merkley, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, American Postal Workers Union and Communications Workers of America.

“The issues Bernie champions speak to working people, and it was empowering to stand in solidarity with both progressive political leaders and our union sisters and brothers in Portland,” said NNU Co-President Deborah Burger, RN. “We look forward to doing the same with voters in California. Nurses will be out all over the state in the coming weeks, to discuss the issues impacting voters’ lives and helping to remind people to register to vote by May 23—the California deadline. It’s critical for voters to make their desire for change heard, and our nurses in the state are excited to vote for Bernie Sanders in the California primary on June 7.”

As the #BernieBus tour has traversed America, nurses have emphasized Sanders’ commitment to guaranteed healthcare for all, assuring equal educational opportunity for all by eliminating public college tuition to drive down student debt, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and creating millions of good paying jobs by rebuilding the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, and broad criminal justice reform, as well as opposition to unfair trade pacts.

“Bernie Sanders shares nurses’ values of caring, compassion and community,” said Burger. “We strongly believe his campaign is the one that will ignite the kind of positive change we’ve needed for so long. Nurses are behind Bernie Sanders—all the way.”

National Nurses United is the largest union of nurses in the country, with 186,000 members in 50 states—and was the first national union to endorse Sanders, in August, 2015.