In a vote of MNA\'s House of Delegates, the highest authoritative body of the organization, MNA affirmed its commitment to the comprehensive representational work that MNA has done for over 50 years, since it first started organizing nurses. MNA will continue its membership in the United American Nurses and the national AFL-CIO and Minnesota AFL-CIO.

ANA has chosen to explore initiatives that no longer include the programs and core functions of a labor organization for nurses, effectively creating an untenable relationship for 97 percent of MNA\'s membership who are represented by union contracts, the MNA said.

"MNA respects the right and autonomy of ANA to guide their organization as they see fit," said MNA President, Linda Slattengren, RN. "It is increasingly apparent however, that MNA and ANA share different visions of how best to represent the interests of our member nurses."

MNA invested significant resources over many months in negotiations with ANA and examining a variety of consequences of maintaining or terminating its membership. MNA member leaders met in a Special House of Delegates in May to set in place protective actions to defend MNA\'s status as a premiere collective bargaining agent for nurses.

The Minnesota Nurses Association has been the second-largest constituent member of ANA, and becomes the seventh state nurses organization to withdraw from ANA. California, Maine, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Michigan all left ANA previously.

"MNA\'s priorities and direction in advancing the interests of registered nurses in Minnesota must be our primary concern." said Slattengren. She emphasized the organization\'s commitment to its stated priorities to focus on staffing for patient safety in acute care hospitals and to achieve health care reform.

ANA established policies several years ago that allow individual Registered Nurses to join and participate in ANA directly.

For more information
Visit the MNA website, www.mnnurses.org