By Rachel Andersen, RN
Chair of the Governmental Affairs Commission
My name is Rachel Andersen, and I have been a nurse for 13 years in the Twin Cities. I’ve worked in many departments in this time, including the COVID-19 ICU which ultimately resulted in my involvement in the union. I also currently serve as the Chair for MNA’s Governmental Affairs Commission (GAC).
“Unprecedented times” has been a slogan used in nursing since the spring of 2020. Nursing has always been a career rooted in trauma, intensity, chaos—the unexpected. But within the unexpected, the true strength of a nurse to infuse calm and reassurance has remained timeless.
The modern understanding of nursing was birthed by Florence Nightingale in the 1850s during the Crimean War, as she served organizing and caring for the wounded. This understanding has made nursing into a hearty profession, giving us a unique gift for elevating hope. This gift is what drives us from our homes at the end of a grueling shift and into the bitter cold streets of Minneapolis to stand side by side with our patients as we lead the charge towards better once more.
Nurses have always been at the forefront of public advocacy—patient autonomy, the AIDS epidemic, the COVID-19 pandemic, nurse-to-patient ratios, vaccine education, Medicare for All, and basic human dignity.
I was first introduced to union activity in 2021 when we were trying to secure Frontline Worker Pay. We were successful in that goal, and after that, I was hooked. I had finally found an outlet for years and years of employer oppression and apathy towards nurse suffering.
In the last 5 years, we have accomplished securing and defending Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST), Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML), an earned break law, and forced a nursing workforce study which solidifies what we have been saying for years: SAFE STAFFING SAVES LIVES.
More recently, our world was spun inside out and is once again unrecognizable. The patients we love and care for have been targeted unjustly. Our best friends and coworkers have been terrified to report to work, and our children have been unable to attend school to learn and grow. The community that we proudly call home became a hostile space.
It is no wonder why nurses are pulled into the struggle. This environment is from which we were born. Our calling to serve our community is, again and again, amplified to a roar.
A nurse is not measured in IVs placed, white board updates or care plan completions. A nurse is a nurse because of our intrinsic ability to care deeply about another person’s outcome.
Where there is pain, nurses create peace.
Where there is suffering, nurses create safety.
Where there is fear, nurses create love.
Where there is trauma, there is hope.
And wherever there is need, there is nursing.
Our reputation is undeniable in what our union can accomplish. Because of the gains we have achieved, I have seen firsthand that people ARE power, and when we use our collective voice, we can truly raise the standards for members, frontline workers, and Minnesotans alike.
