Hats Off to the California Nurses Association for their fifth successful organizing campaign in two weeks (see press release below)! As the Massachusetts Nurses Association pursues final steps toward disaffiliation from the American Nurses Association, it is instructive to look to the California Nurses Association, which was the first state to choose this path back in 1995. Since disaffiliating from the moderate ANA, the California nurses have utilized their resources to wage an aggressive campaign on behalf of patients and the front-line nurses who care for them. This effort has resulted in passage of the nation's first safe staffing legislation, and in nearly doubling their membership from 20,000 in 1995 to more than 36,000 members today. Coincidentally, the MNA currently has 20,000 members and has safe staffing legislation before the Massachusetts legislature. The nurses of Massachusetts, like those in California, are ready and willing to organize, be it in the workplace, in their communities and in the halls of the legislature for fundamental changes in nursing and the health care system.