Nurses demand Kaiser protect DACA colleagues

RNs in San Francisco to protest Kaiser's plan to terminate nurses who are DACA recipients waiting for federal government to renew employment documents

Registered nurses at Bay Area Kaiser facilities will hold a rally at Kaiser San Francisco Medical Center on Monday, May 11, to protest Kaiser's plan to terminate nurses who are DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, recipients waiting for the federal government to renew their work documents, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) today.

The DACA nurses, who are often called Dreamers, are experiencing delayed processing of their work renewal applications under the Trump administration and are put on unpaid leave once their employment documents expire. Kaiser, however, does not need to terminate them while they wait for documents to be renewed. Instead of backing its own dedicated workers, Kaiser is bolstering Trump's anti-immigrant agenda by choosing to terminate these DACA recipients. DACA nurses in similar situations working in the University of California system, for example, are not under threat of losing their jobs because UC's contract with nurses protects them from termination in these cases. Kaiser nurses say Kaiser must do the same.

"We need every nurse here at Kaiser, especially nurses with experience," said Deb Capistrano, RN at Kaiser San Francisco. "Our colleagues who are in this country under DACA status deserve to keep their jobs. It makes no sense for Kaiser to terminate experienced nurses due to their immigration status. The federal government is very delayed in renewing employment documents. Kaiser should wait for their document renewal."

Who: Kaiser registered nurses
What: Rally to protect DACA nurses
When: Monday, May 11, 12:40-1:10 p.m.
Where: Kaiser San Francisco, Medical Office Building, 2238 Geary Blvd, San Francisco

CNA represents more than 25,000 registered nurses at Kaiser facilities across California.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.