MNA Endorses Rep. Marty Walsh for Mayor of Boston

CANTON, Mass., May 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts Nurses Association National Nurses United (MNA/NNU), the largest union of registered nurses and health professionals in the commonwealth, today announced that it has endorsed State Representative Marty Walsh for Mayor of Boston.

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"Our endorsement of Rep. Walsh is based on his outstanding record of supporting a number of issues important to frontline nurses in Massachusetts, including his longstanding support for Federal and state legislation to require safe RN-to-patient staffing limits for nurses in acute care hospitals, safer working conditions for nurses, and access to quality health care for all in America," said MNA/NNU President Donna Kelly-Williams, RN.

"Throughout his entire career as an elected official, Rep. Walsh has been an active supporter of our nurses and their patients, supporting us in our efforts to provide patients inside the city's hospitals with the highest possible quality of care," added Kelly-Williams. "He has walked picket lines with us, he has represented our interests by reaching out directly to various hospital managers for us, and he's been down in the trenches with us … fighting, for example, to keep community facilities like Carney Hospital open."

Kelly-Williams also noted Rep. Walsh's record on issues important to the labor movement and working families. "His record on these issues is beyond dispute," she said. "He is committed to supporting a progressive agenda to create jobs with living wages, provide quality housing, education and a secure retirement for all. Without doubt, Rep. Walsh will make a powerful impact if elected as mayor of Boston."

"I am both excited and grateful to have the backing of the Massachusetts Nurses Association," Rep. Walsh said.  "I have walked picket lines with these nurses and have supported them in the halls of the State House. They are dedicated professionals who strive everyday to give best-in-class care to each and every one of their patients, while at the same time working to improve both their working conditions and their nursing practice.  I am honored to have their support in this campaign."

The MNA's PAC unanimously endorsed Walsh on April 10.

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest professional health care organization and 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.  The MNA is also a founding member of National Nurses United, the largest national nurses union in the United States with more than 170,000 members from coast to coast.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United