Nursing Unions

Nurses Union

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I am looking for information regarding nursing unions... the advantages, disadvantages, how they work, etc.

I am in my last semester of a BSN program and this info will help me to prepare for a debate. I have to argue AGAINST professional nursing unions. Why should we not have them?????

Thanks!-NSCU RN

jt- so if I wanted to work at your hospital and NOT join the union I would have to pay the $300/yr? For those that are members they only pay the 1.6%,not the $300 also?

NSCU RN

So get involved, and make it work for you. I go to union meetings, and see the same faces most times. I cannot understand why anyone would pay their dues, and not ever go along to see what was being done with them. It is all too easy to sit on the sidelines and carp, but how are they supposed to know what you want doing if you never go along and say?

Worldwide, nursing and nurses are in demand as never before. Now is as good a time to press management for improvements as any, but only if union members stand up and say so. There is nothing more disheartening for a representative to do, than (figuratively!) bang on management's door on some issue, on behalf of the membership, then turn to find that, when it comes to the crunch, the members are suddenly busy with something else!

Perhaps conditions are similar in non-union hospitals because they have to offer competitive pay and conditions to attract staff, so that effectively the unions are driving improvements in non-union areas as well. Do you want to stand up for your rights, or take a free ride on others' hard work?

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No. If you wanted to work at my hospital in a job where the nurses are unionized (staff RN, utilization review, home care, clinics, dialysis center, etc), you would be part of the union too and we all pay the same %. We do not have "open shops" where some staff doing the same job are union & some are not.

The only way you would not be paying the 1.6% at the unionized facility is if you took a job in what is classified as "management" there. Then, if you chose to join the state professional assoc, you'd be a non-union member, & would pay about $300/yr.

You can't work in a job covered by our union at our union facilities & not join the union. Most are"closed shop" which means when you accept a job there, you automatically are part of the union. You would be informed of this by the Human Resources Dept at your interview when you applied for a job. Its a union hospital & being part of the union is a "condition of employment" for all employees.

A "non-union nurse" in our assoc is a member that is not working in the same job classification as the unionized nurses in any of our unionized hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, schools, surgery centers, dialysis centers, home care agencies, or other facilities.

Applicants who do not want to be part of the union can decide not to take a job there but most of the hospitals in NYC are unionized closed shops and have the same condition of employment.

There is an exception for applicants whose religion prohibits them from paying union dues but they still pay the SAME amount as the other nurses who work there (1.6% of the lowest base salary in the region) - they just designate a charity for it to be sent to instead. They are still covered by the union's contract.

A "non-union nurse" that pays the reduced rates mentioned is a member who is NOT a staff nurse working at any of the facilities where the nurses have unionized with our assoc.

She is a retired, disabled, or student nurse. Or she is in mangagement. Or is a nurse but not working. Or she is working at a facility where her job classification is not part of the union & not covered by its contract. Some are even staff nurses working in hospitals that are unionized by other organizations but still want to be a part of their professioanl state assoc. Ours is a multi-purpose organization with 2 branches - a professional association and also a labor union. None of these nurses are part of the association's union branch & so they pay a reduced rate for membership because they do not utilize the collective bargaining services. Their dues pay for membership in the state professional assoc & the ANA.

ANY full time staff nurse working in any of our unionized facilities & covered by our collective bargaining contracts pays dues equal to 1.6% of the lowest base salary in the region. Part time & per diems pay 1.2 %. These annual union membership rates pay for membership in & support the work of all of the following:

-the state professional association

-the union branch of the state association (which is who helps us locally with our contracts & labor issues at work)

-the ANA

-the UAN (the national RN labor union)

-the AFL-CIO.

NRSKARENRN, hope you liked the website for Southern Arizona Nurses Coalition. We had a great turn out Feb. 7 for a Townhall. We had California Nurses Association there, also 2 of the RN's that tried to organize in Phoenix last year.. They really had something to say. But anyway, we had around 200 people show up. And a lot of interest to join. This is a great group of people. Bringing info to the nurses in Tucson. After all, knowledge is power. Stay tuned for further developments. The website has been the greatest thing . Hope you stay active and don't get laid back. I hate to say it but the ratio for my shift is 1:24. Yep ! That's right..... I can oversee lpn's AND do charge duties also. Hang in there and don't quit.......... Daisymae

Specializes in ER, Psych, Telephone Triage.

I have been a Nurse for quite a while and worked in 4 different hospital systems. 2 were unionized and 2 were not. 1 of the hospitals became unionized during the time I was working there. After my hospital got Unionized payscales improved, Nurse Patient Ratios improved -Nurses were less overworked, Patient care was improved, benefits packages improved, Labor Management Partnerships began, Dialouges opened up between Nursing and Administration and problem solving with issues began and started to work.

I have not experienced any negative issues thru my exposure to Nursing Unions. I have been in 2 so far. But in Non Union hospitals I have seen Nurses forced to attend indoctrination sessions with "Union Busters" to scare you out of bringing a Union into the hospital. The Union Hospitals I was in had higher pay scales and better bennies and working conditions then the Non Union ones.

Also if and when you are reprimanded you hve the right to have a Union Rep at your side when you go before your Supervisor. Quite often supervisors do not adhere to the eastablished rules and hospital policies when they reprimand you. The union rep is well aware of Hospital and union agreed upon policy of reprimand and keeps things on the up and up during the reprimand.

I would not work in a non union hospital!

Were happy that you haven't had any probs with your union but others have as can be seen on this forum. Unions aren't the utopia that you and your pro union buddies would have us to believe. Do I want to pay 80ish dollars a month for someone to protect me from administration...NO! speak for me...NO. Keep your union. Thanks be for Right To Work states!

Specializes in ER, Psych, Telephone Triage.

I support Unions and they support membership/Nurses. Whether or not you like them is irrelevant to me. I have benefited from their association with Nursing and Bucks, Bennies and over all work conditions as well as relationships with management/Nurse has become less oppositional/confrontational and much more civil.

For the few in this forum who have not had similar experiences and who by no means constitute a majority there are just as many RN's who have had excellent experiences with Unions. The benefits brought by the Union far out weights the cost of Dues.

I had been a Union rep for a few yers and represented quite a few Nurses who were getting screwed by administration and helped to get them fair and just treatment as per hospital/union policy which Admin was not compliant with.

CWA/UNAC Keep up the great work you do!

Ignore the scabs, and administration brown noses, happy la de da Nurses who see nothing wrong with the way they are abused by administration, who would rather suck up to administration then fight for their rights!

More of the nasty remarks, eh? This is typical of the union camp. If you disagree with them, you are automatically in adminstrations pocket. Get real mike, what works for one doesn't work for all!

Specializes in Psych , Peds ,Nicu.
More of the nasty remarks, eh? This is typical of the union camp. If you disagree with them, you are automatically in adminstrations pocket. Get real mike, what works for one doesn't work for all!

You may not be in adminstrations pocket , but for the most part ,you appear to support their causes rather than those of the bedside nurses. As to the references to scabs etc., as you have said on other threads you would like to be a professional union buster , if so you need to be less sensitive to such name calling ( remember sticks and stones ...)and not feign hurt when they are heard because if you set yourself up as a target , you will be hit sometimes .

Specializes in Psych , Peds ,Nicu.
More of the nasty remarks, eh? This is typical of the union camp. If you disagree with them, you are automatically in adminstrations pocket. Get real mike, what works for one doesn't work for all!

Don't feign hurt indignation , you live off such hostile remarks , as evidence of the evil union nurses . As a person who has said they would like to be a professional Union buster , you reaction seems somewhat oversensitive .

Whether a union organizer or someone who Union busts , this is an emotive subject and nastiness goes in both directions .

It woulfd take a lot more than this forum to hurt my feelings :D

Specializes in ER, Psych, Telephone Triage.

Let's get real!

Most of the RN's that I have met that have been anti union have been either scared and intimidated against them by Admin or not aware of the improvements that can come about thru having a Union or are just plain brown noses and Scabs.

There are also some Nurses afraid to take risks and who would rather be under the thumb of an unfair, unjust and abusive administration then risk gaining the support that a Union can offer

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