Nurses crossing picket lines

Nurses Union

Published

I was talking some nurses today, a friend of mine and two of her nurse friends, one of whom I had never met. She was telling me about when she worked 9 nights straight during a strike somewhere, and she made over $11,000. She is currently working on getting her Calif license because there is going to be a strike somewhere there soon.

She said that previous strike lasted 3 or 4 months, and if she had stayed the whole time she would have made 2 years worth of salary. She told me that they put you up in a hotel and they bus you in to the hospital, so you don't actually see the strikers.

Interesting huh? What do you think?

So- remind me again - what is my political and financial agenda? What post were you reading?

What ties to community do travellers have? remind me again. Nothing against travellers. It's a great option for nurses, but we all have to sleep at night. If nurses who cross picket lines can still call themselves professionals and members of the nursing community I would have to question their motives.

Most strikes are ULP strikes and most ULP's are non-economic. ULP strikes are closed ended. We are fighting to improve patient care and staffing. The boss has barely even talked about money with us so the $$$ isn't even the issue right now.

Remind me again where you work and what improvements have you and your co-workers been able to make? How were they achieved and what legally binding language do you have to hold mgmt to their word and committment?

Got nothing but love for ya!:yeah:

Specializes in ER,ICU,L+D,OR.

Obviously I am referencing post #11

And here you go again insulting nurses who cross picket lines. And yes they are nurses, and yes they are professionals, and yes they are members of the nursing community at large.

Though you may feel differently strikes to "Improve patient care and staffing" is about money. It takes money to get more nurses. And money in this day and age is always the issue. No matter how you convince yourself otherwise.

Specializes in Community Health.

OK so I have a couple honest questions (I'm not a nurse yet so I don't really have a stance on this issue)

Is the issue with nurses crossing the picket lines to take care of patients, or with them being paid higher wages to do so?

If no nurses cross the picket lines, who will take care of the patients? Why should they suffer because of a union dispute? (I'm pro-union, FTR)

And don't travel nurses get paid more and given living stipends anyways, not just for nurse strikes?

Specializes in ER, MED/SURG, CARDIOLOGY.

I don't like that nurses have to have unions, yet if we don't take care of ourselves, then who will? You can bet that it won't be the MDs, administrators, or the insurance companies. If professionals like teachers, accountants in the IRS, and other degreed people can and are union, then so can nurses. I also work with RN's who have crossed picket lines just to make large amounts of money, yet I have heard them say how tough we have it and how we need ratio limits, better work conditions, etc. These same nurses just don't understand that they are stabbing themselves in the back, then laughing about it. When the band played their last song on the Titanic, I wonder if they thought about how cold the water would be?

My community had an ugly strike a few years ago. There were nurses who had to cross the picket lines for personal reasons ( one had a dying husband) and another had a medical condition which was too costly for the nurse to pay for. Instead of the nursing union picking up the costs for these nurses to support their crisis, they sent dead rats to their homes and other horrible acts. The striking nurses did not portray themselves as caring professionals. In fact the nurse with a dying husband posted a letter in the paper asking for support from her fellow nurses and instead she got treated horribly. The travel nurses also did not represent the finest in nursing either making money off of other nurses issues ( the traveling nurses did not have the same patient assignments or conditions that the striking nurses had).

I also feel the right to work is a personal issue, like abortion and each person has the right to choose. It doesn't mean one person is right or wrong but both sides should be respected.

It is a horrible situation when nurses feel the only way they can make their situation better is by striking, shame on the hospital putting the nurses in this situation. But the striking nurses should respect other nurses who for personal reasons had to cross the picket line.

Specializes in ER and Home Health.

To Strike or not to Strike

To cross picket lines or not cross picket lines

These are the issues that serve

To cloud all of our minds

And render whatever we do as inefficient

to the poster adawg67: I know the orginal posting on this is almost 1 year old, but I have to agree with the posters' I am46yearsold and medsurg32RN.' At my stage in nursing I have run the gamit-union RN, nonunion RN. as a union RN for 18 YEARS all I ever heard for all those 18 YEARS is strike,strike,strike!!! If they didn't like the toilet paper we're going to strike and every 2 years when our contracts were up there would be a strike vote. THIS IS UNSTABLE and UNSETTLING when you have bills to pay-as medsurg32RN pointed out- think about what this RN most have been feeling with the sick family member and having to live and work in this strike,strike enviornment. All I saw during those 18YEARS was 'eating their yound, lateral violence, harrassment, name calling, falsewitness bearing,singeling out, sqirtingcondiments and other things in certain staff RN's lockers, my locker looked like someone took a hammer and screwdriver and beat the tar out of it. These were acts by those UNION RN's toward their fellow coworker staff UNION RN's. I did work a strike- would I do it again YES. My thought is- patient care- do I feel that a manager is competent enough to give lovenox- NO ( that's an example of why I would do it again) do I think a manager is competent to titrate vasoactive drips- NO (that's why I would do it again) when these nurses go out on strike- their patients DO NOT accompany them and walk the strike line with them- they are still stuck in the hospital bed. I saw no vents or IV poles on the picket line. What I did see was a bunch of nurses asking for more money- already making $50/hour( we nurses who worked this strike were making $40/hour just for the record and had to buy our own lunch and uniforms which were fadded and old), paid lunch, more of a uniform allowance- GREED and sticking their middle finger up at us and shouting names and slurrs at us. This behavior is so far from professional dignity , that it is beyond comprehension, To send dead rats to someone's house and call your-self a nurse and consider yourself professional standards, I think NOT. I do not care about thier POLITICS- the problems are on BOTH sides (another reason why I would work strike again) do we have a community- Yes- it's called state of residence/tax law- where we live, our residence, do we have families- yes- we are on the cellphone with them constantly (I did), do we have friends- yes- we cellphone them constantly too(I did- and they happen to be nurses- non union, in our hometown) Are we compentent- YES, more so than the staff that is out on strike- we have to be -to work different facilities, we have to be flexiable/floating( this is how we learn new skills I know union RN don't like this -they didn't like this when I was UNION for 18 YEARS and would offer to float to another unit- this threatened they lazy union mahoffahhs on my unit- I was learning other specialities- TELEMETRY It made them look bad- like the abusive spouse who will not let their partner socialize/work), we have to be up to date in our skills INCLUDING med calculations-just in case you staff nurses FORGOT to plug in your IV pumps before you left. Agency/Travelers/Strike nurse see ALOT of different settings/ experiences and their knowlege/skill base only broadens. Critical thinking becomes sharpens, they catch on to new things quicker. would I do a strike again YOU BET!!

Specializes in Critical-care RN.

Your story is like Swss chesse , full of holes..... have a nice life

The truth is out about nursing's less than professional dignified behavior, point out where the holes are- the fact that agency nurses are more competent- that's a fact, how many staff RN test yearly for medication calculations- (go to any agency website an try to take their med test.) I have been staff - and I know the answer to that. Do staff nurses like to float- no, that's a fact. I've been staff and I know the answer to that one too.(most nurses are very threatened when it's their turn to float- they don't know their stuff well enough!) Are staff nurses cruel and abusive to their fellow nurses - yes, that's a fact. I've been staff for Years and I have seen this first hand. This behavior is CRIMINAL - and should be punnishable in court. educate yourself and look up : www.ANA.com-american nursing association's article on lateral violence, and www.JCAHO.org- under the SENTINAL EVENT drop down box. don't think they would ever do such things to you- think again. Have you seen any vents or IV poles on picket lines- I haven't. and again- would I do a strike again YES, stop taking this personnally- a nurse's decision to do strike have nothing to do with the nurses on the picket line- we could care less what your politics are, we don't know your names or your personal business. We are there to do a our job, an assignment, and that is it!! not to get wraped up in the management/union issues. again we could care less( Swiss Cheese- spelling)

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