National Nurses United statement on NIOSH layoffs

The nation’s largest union of registered nurses provided the following statement in response to planned mass layoffs at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), one of the most important parts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

“Registered nurses continue to be outraged by the current administration’s intentional destruction of critical public health care staffing, resources, and infrastructure.

“For more than 50 years, NIOSH has been an essential resource for workers across the U.S. to help ensure their health and safety at a variety of essential workplaces. Among many other vital services, NIOSH inspects and certifies respirators like N95s and other personal protective equipment that saved countless lives throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Nurses rely on this expertise to protect us from infectious diseases every day.

“As part of the CDC, NIOSH staff help prevent illnesses and injuries and investigate hazardous situations workers face. The knowledge, expertise, and resources they provide empower workers like nurses to understand how to protect ourselves, our patients, and our communities. The 225,000 nurses in our union and the millions of nurses across the country depend on these federal agencies to keep us safe and to keep our patients safe.

“As part of a broader agenda to dismantle the federal government, these staffing cuts should be another red flag for anyone who wants to improve, not worsen, our country’s health care outcomes. It is clear to union nurses that the goal of this administration and congressional Republicans is not to improve health, but to slash public resources and ultimately privatize the agencies created to serve all of us.

“The nation’s largest union of registered nurses is already mobilizing to protect our patients and our co-workers. We will fight back against these cruel and short-sighted cuts and against any agenda that puts profits before patients.”