Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Zenei Triunfo-Cortez

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today’s profile is Zenei Triunfo-Cortez.

Zenei Triunfo-Cortez is an RN who serves as one of the presidents of National Nurses United (NNU) and one of the presidents of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (the state affiliate of NNU). She is an inspiring advocate for Asian Americans in the labor movement. Her work has long inspired nurses of Filipina descent, which has been especially critical during the pandemic, when COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on Filipina registered nurses, who compromise nearly one-quarter of all RN COVID-19 deaths.