Inspiration for Activism
- The heart of the documentary “Playing on Our Sentiments” the story of the Hale Nurses Union organized in 1954 in Massachusetts.
Marion Cronin
- Graduated from Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in 1941
- Began her career as a nurse at the Contagious Hospital, next door to the Hale
- Active in the Massachusetts Nurses Association by 1950
- Worked for a law that gave nurses the right to collective bargaining, and once that law passed, worked with other nurses at the Hale to form an MNA bargaining unit then elected to be their leader (chairperson).
- At 98, continues to support the struggles of nurses everywhere for good contracts.
NurseManifest 
Great post about Marion Cronin and the film, “Playing on Our Sentiments”. One slight correction is that they organized in 2954 but couldn’t become a union until 1967. They had to wait for Massachusetts to pass a law that allowed public sector workers to have unions. Hale Hospital was the city hospital for Haverhill, MA.
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Poops, my previous comment said 2954, instead of 1954.
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