Nurses from around the globe take part in “Democracy Is Not for Sale” march

San Francisco march to highlight resistance to billionaire agenda

Registered nurses from across the United States and 28 other countries will take part in the "Democracy Is Not for Sale" march in San Francisco on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. The march, hosted by California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) and National Nurses United (NNU), is intended to highlight the international resistance to billionaire agendas that deprive tens of millions of people across the world from access to health care, educational and employment opportunities, and safe environments to live and raise families.

"We have nurses from all over the world in San Francisco to meet and chart a course of resistance and resilience against authoritarian governments basically bought off by billionaires that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to the millions of people across the world," said Sandy Reding, RN and president of CNA/NNOC. "As nurses, we have devoted our lives to caring for our communities and the most vulnerable. We know advocacy does not end at the bedside, but must carry into the halls of power and into the streets."

What: "Democracy Is Not for Sale" march
Who: Registered nurses from across the United States and the world
When: Weds., Oct. 8; Nurses available at 1:15 p.m., march runs 1:30 to 2:15 p.m.
Where: San Francisco Marriott Marquis - Meet nurses at Marriott side entrance near 51 Yerba Buena Lane, San Francisco

Nurses from around the world are in San Francisco taking part in the Global Nurses Solidarity Assembly, a triennial meeting of CNA/NNOC and NNU. Global Nurses United (GNU), a federation of international nurse unions representing more than 2.5 million nurses and other health care workers in 35 countries around the world, is also convening. GNU members work together to fight against austerity measures, privatization, and attacks on public health-and to work for nurses' and workers' rights and improved patient care for all.

In May of this year, GNU released a report entitled, Global Crisis, Collective Solution: Addressing the Worldwide Nurse Staffing Crisis, a groundbreaking report examining the nurse staffing crisis affecting health care systems across the planet.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.