Q&A: WSNA endorsement of Kamala Harris for president

This is the first time in its 121-year history that WSNA has made an endorsement for president. Why now?

The WSNA Board believes that our voice must be heard in 2024 – the stakes for nursing and health care are too high to remain neutral when issues of health care access, reproductive rights, labor rights, public health, health care equity, and investment in the nursing workforce are on the line.

Previously, WSNA, like other state affiliates of the American Nurses Association (ANA), has not made endorsements in federal races, leaving those decisions to ANA and the ANA Political Action Committee. ANA endorsed and campaigned for presidential candidates in every election from 1984 to 2016. In 2019, ANA changed its policy on endorsing presidential candidates, and in 2020, the ANA Board declined to make an endorsement. It appears likely that it will decline again in 2024. As the ANA will not be making an endorsement, WSNA’s Board of Directors felt compelled to do so.

WSNA is also an affiliate of AFT, a labor organization whose affiliates represent over 250,000 healthcare professionals. AFT voted overwhelmingly at its recent convention to endorse Kamala Harris for President. Vice-president Harris flew to Houston three days later to address the convention. In making this endorsement, WSNA joins with AFT’s 1.8 million members—educators, healthcare professionals, and public service professionals.

Does this endorsement mean that WSNA is no longer a nonpartisan organization?

WSNA remains a nonpartisan organization. We are not linked to any political party. WSNA includes members from across the political spectrum. We work to advance the interests of our members, the nursing profession, and the health of the public. Our decision to endorse Vice President Harris is based on her and her opponents’ records and positions on issues that impact our members – not party affiliations.

I am a WSNA union member. How would the election affect my rights?

The 2024 presidential election will impact union members’ rights directly in several ways. These are explored further in Why This Presidential Election Matters to WSNA Union Members. In short, based on President Trump’s track record, workers and unions will lose ground and laws that currently protect us will be weakened. In contrast, the Biden-Harris administration has consistently supported and strengthened union and worker rights.

1. The President appoints Members and the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which interprets federal labor law and rules on nearly all workplace disputes between unions and private sector employers. The NLRB’s Members interpret and apply the National Labor Relations Act to labor-management disputes; its General Counsel enforces the NLRA, and – importantly – decides which cases to prosecute. The President’s appointments to those positions play a critical role in administering laws related to organizing, collective bargaining, and other matters that directly impact WSNA members’ rights.
2. President Trump’s appointments to these positions rolled back workers’ rights and allowed employers to run roughshod over union members in historically unprecedented ways. The Biden-Harris administration appointed a pro-worker Board and General Counsel whose work has restored rights the previous administration restricted. Because Washington state’s Public Employment Relations Commission (the public sector equivalent of the NLRB) often takes its lead from the NLRB, the next President’s appointments will impact private and public employees alike.
3. The President also appoints federal judges to lifetime positions on the bench, where they play a significant role in determining how state and federal labor laws apply to both private and public employees. President Trump’s appointments have consistently issued decisions that restricted workers’ rights to organize and enforce their contracts and their rights.

Does this endorsement mean my dues money is going to support Harris for President?

WSNA does not use members’ dues to contribute to political campaigns. Neither WSNA nor WSNA PAC will be making any monetary contributions to Harris or any candidate for federal office. Our support will focus on publicizing our endorsement via our website and social media. (Members who want to be actively engaged in the campaign can contact Nurses for America, which is organizing support for Harris).

WSNA members hold different views on the election and on many issues. Isn’t this decision divisive?

We recognize and respect the fact that our members hold diverse political views and that not all members will agree with the decision to endorse Harris. We encourage and expect that every WSNA member will make up their own minds about for whom to vote. In this election, however, the Board believes that the candidates’ positions on WSNA’s priority issues require us to take a stand. The outcome of this election will hold major implications for nursing, health care, and the future of workers’ rights in our country. Given what is at stake, we need to be willing to make bold choices.