[2]National Nurses United


Hi all,

Lucy here. I’m a volunteer writing from my home district in northern
California (CA-19) with some exciting news to share.

We just got word last week that we won our campaign calling on Rep. Zoe
Lofgren to support Medicare for All! She has officially signed on as a
cosponsor of the Medicare for All bill in the House, H.R. 1976.

Before I tell the story of how we won our campaign, [ [link removed] ]will you help us
celebrate this victory by sharing the news on social media?

[ [link removed] ][IMG]

[ [link removed] ]Share on Twitter »

[ [link removed] ]Share on Facebook »

It was deep-rooted community organizing that delivered this success.
This specific round of work began in 2019 when activists with the Santa
Clara County Single Payer Healthcare Coalition joined with NNU and others
to drive the effort to get Rep. Lofgren to sign on to Medicare for All. We
were successful then, but we knew that with the bill set to be
re-introduced this year, we had to make sure she signed back on once
again.

And so before the bill was reintroduced this year, we lobbied for a
meeting with Rep. Lofgren as early as January 2021. Many emails and phone
calls were made to secure a 30-minute meeting with the Congresswoman in
early March. At the last minute, we were told we could only meet with her
staff. That put us on notice that she was not ready to support Medicare
for All again.   

But more back and forth emails secured a 20 minute meeting with our
Congresswoman for early May. Persistence was key!

We worked with NNU to pull together nurses, doctors, community leaders,
and activists to make the case for Medicare for All. We wrote concise
talking points, planned a tight agenda, and rehearsed what we would say.
We were well prepared to make our case in under ten minutes and give her
eight minutes to respond. 

During all of these months when we were pushing for the meeting we hit the
ground running to demonstrate support for the bill. This included texting
and calling nearly 60,000 voters, as well as a postcard writing campaign
leading up to the meeting. 

When the meeting finally came, Rep. Lofgren mentioned these efforts and
finally agreed to sign on. 

Organizing really does work and is a requirement for positive social
change. Our most potent ingredients were persistence, just plain showing
up, and doing the work with a passionate, determined
let’s-get-the-job-done team. Team members helped shore each other up when
the going was tough and things felt discouraging. And the team was there
to celebrate successes and everything in between!

I am convinced that no effort is ever wasted, even when all evidence seems
to say the opposite. Persistence and constant pressure pave the way for
something to happen.  

Our success in gaining the cosponsorship of Rep. Lofgren along with every
new cosponsor this year is evidence that consistent pressure is key. NNU
is supporting organizers in key districts across the country where we can
make the most impact on Medicare for All. 

Right now, we have 117 cosponsors on the bill (that’s over half of the
Democratic Caucus) and with more active campaigns like ours, I know more
victories are on the way. 

[ [link removed] ]Please share this news far and wide to help grow our momentum for
Medicare for All, and together we can get one step closer to passing H.R.
1976.

I’m proud to be in this movement alongside all of you. Let us be
persistent and do what must be done. This is how we win. 

Lucy Geever-Conroy



You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]