What California Nurses Association does

California Nurses Association (CNA) is a nonprofit labor union and professional association representing registered nurses, founded in 1903 and headquartered in Oakland, California. CNA operates as the largest affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), which collectively represents more than 225,000 RN members across all 50 states through affiliated state bodies and the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC). The union's stated membership within CNA alone exceeds 100,000 direct-care RNs.

CNA's core products are collective bargaining representation, workplace advocacy, and member services for nurses at hospitals and healthcare facilities. Service lines include union representation in contract negotiations, safe-staffing ratio advocacy (the foundational California RN-to-patient staffing law is CNA's signature achievement), workplace violence and health/safety programs, free continuing education classes, the RN Response Network (RNRN) disaster relief program, the National Nurse Magazine, the Nurse Advocacy Network, and national policy campaigns such as Medicare for All and CalCare. The organization operates physical offices in Oakland (HQ), Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego.

The business model is membership-dues-based recurring revenue. CNA generates income from per-member dues paid by represented RNs rather than from commercial product pricing. CNA represents nurses at facilities operated by major U.S. health systems including CommonSpirit/Dignity Health, HCA, Ascension, and Kaiser Permanente, and has extended jurisdiction to 23+ states plus DC and Puerto Rico through NNOC. Go-to-market is community-led organizing: card-check campaigns, direct worksite representation, and grassroots political mobilization rather than a sales motion. The organization is governed by four elected NNU Presidents (Jamie Brown, Nancy Hagans, Cathy Kennedy, Mary Turner) and led by Executive Director Puneet Maharaj as of July 2025.

Name

California Nurses Association

Legal name

California Nurses Association

Website

https://nationalnursesunited.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1903

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

California Nurses Association is a nonprofit labor union representing registered nurses, founded in 1903 and headquartered in Oakland. As the largest affiliate of National Nurses United, it serves over 225,000 RN members nationwide through collective bargaining, safe staffing advocacy, and workplace representation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Union Membership Dues: Revenue is generated through membership dues paid by registered nurses represented by the union. CNA/NNOC represents nurses at facilities across California and the nation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

California Nurses Association (CNA) is a labor union and professional association that provides collective bargaining representation, workplace advocacy, and member services to registered nurses at hospitals and healthcare facilities. As the largest affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), CNA negotiates contracts, enforces safe staffing ratios, delivers continuing education, and runs disaster-relief and policy-advocacy programs on behalf of its members.

Product overview

California Nurses Association (CNA) is a nurses union and professional organization that provides collective bargaining representation, workplace advocacy, and professional development services to registered nurses. CNA operates as an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of registered nurses in the United States with over 225,000 members. CNA's core offerings include union representation for contract negotiations, safe staffing ratios advocacy campaigns, health and safety programs, continuing education classes, and the RN Response Network disaster relief program. The organization also publishes National Nurse Magazine and operates the Nurse Advocacy Network for member engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Union Representation Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Won California RN Safe Staffing Law - the first of its kind nationwide
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered major affiliate and core initiative.

• Global Nurses Unitedmajor affiliateOthersGlobal Nurses United is an international federation of nurse unions, bringing together nurses and health care workers from around the world to work on shared concerns about health care, trade, and the nursing profession. CNA/NNU participates in this international network as part of NNU's global outreach.
• RN Response Network (RNRN)core initiativeOthersRNRN is a disaster relief organization by and for RNs, formed in 2005. It has sent teams of nurses to help following disasters in locations across the U.S. and around the world including California, Florida, New York, Texas, Haiti, the Philippines, and the Bahamas. RNRN has also provided basic humanitarian aid and medical support to underserved communities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• New York State Nurses Association: NYSNA is a direct NNU affiliate that represents RNs in New York through collective bargaining and advocacy. It is structurally identical to CNA, operates under the same NNU umbrella, and competes/cooperates with CNA on national policy.
• American Nurses Association: ANA is the largest U.S. professional association for registered nurses, historically the alternative to CNA for nursing advocacy and credentialing. Both compete for the same registered-nurse member base across overlapping policy and professional-development offerings.
• Michigan Nurses Association: Michigan Nurses Association is an NNU affiliate representing RNs in Michigan with the same union representation and advocacy model as CNA. It is a direct comparable at state-affiliate level with overlapping member services.
• National Nurses United: NNU is CNA's parent federation — the same labor movement at a national level, with overlapping leadership, shared dues infrastructure, and identical collective-bargaining and legislative-advocacy mission. It is the most directly comparable organization.
• Minnesota Nurses Association: Minnesota Nurses Association is an NNU affiliate representing RNs in Minnesota, often cited for high-profile contract negotiations and strikes. It is a direct comparable with the same collective-bargaining model and policy platform.

Broad incumbents

• AFL-CIO: AFL-CIO is the national labor federation to which NNU is affiliated. It is the closest structural counterpart operating at federation level across all industries, and is relevant for political-coordination, member benefit programs, and cross-union solidarity dynamics.
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): SEIU Healthcare represents large numbers of nurses and broader healthcare workers through collective bargaining, frequently competing with CNA/NNOC for representation rights at hospital systems. It is a broader-incumbent peer covering the same healthcare labor space at greater scale.

Emerging players

• American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Healthcare: AFT represents nurses alongside teachers and public employees, often organizing healthcare workers into the same local union structure. It is a partial-overlap competitor in the healthcare labor-representation space, especially at public hospital systems.
• National Education Association (NEA): NEA is the largest U.S. labor union (public-sector teachers) and an AFL-CIO affiliate. While it represents a different profession, its membership-dues-funded professional-association model, governance structure, and political-advocacy posture closely mirror CNA/NNU's operating model.

Others

• Global Nurses United: Global Nurses United is the international federation of nurse unions in which CNA/NNU participates. It is not a competitor but the most direct ecosystem peer, enabling cross-border advocacy and disaster-relief coordination.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/calnurses
• YouTubevimeo.com/nationalnursesunited
• Facebookfacebook.com/calnurses
• Instagraminstagram.com/nationalnurses
• TikToktiktok.com/@nationalnurses

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about California Nurses Association