Karlton Scott began serving as Executive Director of the Minnesota Nurses Association in February 2023. He brings a strong background in labor organizing, having worked in the field for over 13 years with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA). His previous role as Director of Organizing at MNA involved growing the union’s membership and increasing worker representation. Karlton’s educational background includes a BA in political science and government from Purdue University and extensive training in organizing and leadership.
His overall mission as Executive Director is to build a stronger, more inclusive, and effective labor movement within the healthcare industry and to advocate for the rights and well-being of healthcare workers. He hopes to accomplish this through a focus on membership expansion and building union density in the healthcare industry while also serving as a resource for all healthcare workers.
Karlton has initially identified the need for more training and education opportunities for nurses in Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Minnesota with a focus on continuing education and is prioritizing training in organizing and strengthening relationships with allies to further the goals of the organization. With his extensive organizing experience, Karlton is also committed to prioritizing the protection of workers against de-certification efforts to ensure that nurses are not left without union representation.
He has demonstrated time and time again his ability to lead organizing campaigns and build successful relationships with healthcare workers. His healthcare organizing campaign work includes organizing homecare workers in Wisconsin and the HCA Research Hospital campaign in Kansas City from 2010 to 2011 and as an organizer in Illinois from 2011 to 2013. He also worked on the Allina strike of 2016 during his previous time with MNA. In addition, Karlton was instrumental in helping to form MNA’s Racial Diversity Committee to promote greater inclusion and representation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Karlton also gained experience leading a union as Senior Campaign Lead for the Association of Flight Attendants in Atlanta, where he led workers in their victory to receive boarding pay from Delta, the only airline currently doing so, proving his strong leadership skills and commitment to advocating for workers’ rights.