UMASS on Nurse Strike

1. Hello AllNurses Community
   
   I was contacted by an agency to take an assignment for the UMASS strike that will be occurring next week. This would be my first travel assignment if I do choose to accept it. I have read several threads about being a strikebreaker and how it is frowned upon. I respect everyones opinion as I hope you respect mine. I am honestly doing it for the money and for the experiance. The nurses on strike have their problems to resolve which I understand but we all have problems also. I feel for them but it is out of my hands. Regardless of me assisting in patient care a solution will be found because I know that the administration would not like to continue paying a travel nurse $55/Hr plus travel expenses. Now that I have a disclosure my question is.
   
   Has anyone ever worked on a travel assignment during a labor dispute or a strike in progress?
   Please share your experiences as this will guide me towards my decision.
   
   Thank you in advance for all that respond

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2. 12 Comments

   Comment
3. 
   May 15, '13

   Personally I do not know if I could do it, cross the line. Until we ALL stand together and fight for what we know is right for our patients, nothing will change. I would love the experience, but not gained that route. But, if I needed food on my table, I would contemplate it. thankfully I do not need a job that bad yet. Best wishes

   Last edit by elprup on May 15, '13 : Reason: Stupid ipad has a mind of its own
4. 
   May 15, '13

   I understand that this is a team effort, however, if I needed the money to provide for my family, if I needed a job because I did not have one, if I needed the experience to get a full time regular job, then I would do what I needed to.
   I feel for the nurses who are obligated to become part of the strike and have mouths to feed and bills to pay.
   They have their issues, and I don't deny them the right to rectify them however they see fit. However, you have your issues, and I don't deny you the right to rectify them how you see fit.
5. 
   May 16, '13

   Milk that money, gurl! GET IT!! Make that hospital pay you all the money they can until that strike ends. Show the hospital how they NEED their current staff... and how much cheaper it is.
   
   wow.... $55/hr.
   
   Imagine if your striking hospital pays your shift diffs as a percentage like mine... wow, that is so much money. I bet there is lots of overtime available. Oh goodness... I'm feeling faint.
   
   
   I need a moment....
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   *exhale*
   
   
   Okay. My official stance. Bless those amazing nurses and may they fight the good fight. May they win their battle and may the line cutters, breakers, walkers, crossers, w/e you call 'em. May those travel nurses provide outstanding care (although it may not be) to the best of their abilities with the minimal training, i'm sure they will not receive) all the while bleeding the hospital dry.
   
   
   $55 /hr...... wow.
6. 
   May 17, '13

   One of the U Mass strikes has been place on hold....the other is still up in the air.

   Massachusetts Nurses Association
   
   After 20 hours of talks with a federal mediator, we are pleased to report that the UMass Memorial/Hahnemann nurses’ negotiating committee has reached a tentative agreement with management on a new two-year contract that includes long-sought improvements in staffing with limits on nurse patient assignments and a commitment to hire a significant number of nurses to improve patient care conditions at the facility, while also protecting the nurses’ benefit package . With the agreement the notice to strike for Memorial/Hahnemann nurses has been lifted for May 23.
   We are not sharing the specific details of the agreement at this time to allow time for the members to review the pact prior to a soon to be scheduled vote for ratification.
   The nurses on the UMass Memorial Medical Center University campus have yet to reach an agreement, with talks scheduled on Monday with the federal mediator, where we hope UMass management can provide the staffing improvements these nurses need to keep their patients safe. The strike notice for the University nurses is still in effect for May 23.
   
   

   They understand when nurses crosses the picket line. They really do. They know administration will spend BIG bucks to keep them at bay. Unfortunately the Admin at U Mass deserves this.....these nurses took huge voluntary cuts a few years back in both wages and benefits when the hospital was in financial trouble.....the have recorded HUGE profits and given upper admin HUGE bonuses while refusing to give back the concessions and have continued to increase nurse patient ratios to really unsafe numbers. The admins has asked for this.
   
   The nurses will not bother you....however I caution you.....you will receive MINIMAL orientation and you will have little, if any, resources available to you. Staff will be minimal/skeletal...you will earn every single dime. You will be on your own and receive little to no administrative/management guidance. You will be strictly on your own.
   
   I wish you the best.
7. 
   May 18, '13

   Agree with Esme12....you will work like a rented mule for that wage. Be aware that these conditions put an unnecessary risk on your license. Recall the case in California in which a contract RN serving in a hospital-on-strike committed a huge med error under harsh working conditions - and the nurse/patient paid for it gravely. California Hospital Patient Dies During Nurses Strike - ABC News.
   You will probably be given the code to the med room and pyxis, and not much else. I would not use this assignment as your first travel assignment. That's just me. I hope everything works out for you!
8. 
   May 18, '13

   This is not a travel assignment if you are crossing a picket line. You will be transported into the facility in street clothes and transported back to the hotel where you will be staying. I personally hate unions because they brainwash people into this entitlement mentality and in the end, the patients suffer.
9. 
   May 18, '13

   Do not feel bad for them. They have a choice.
10. 
    May 18, '13

    Quote from kathconserv

    This is not a travel assignment if you are crossing a picket line. You will be transported into the facility in street clothes and transported back to the hotel where you will be staying. I personally hate unions because they brainwash people into this entitlement mentality and in the end, the patients suffer.

    I have felt that way in the past.....and I have watched the development of Nursing Unions with interest. When you come to the end of your career....or you become ill or injured while employed by these corrupt blood sucking corporations/administrators who dump you in a heart beat and will not hand you a band aid while you lie bleeding in the gutter...while making sure your insurance is stopped ( so you don't cost them money or raise their rates) and you no longer have the disability insurance you have paid for the last 20 years and cannot rub two pennies together to save your own life.....any conservative feelings I have ever had about unions...vanished.
    
    In my state, and it happens to be Massachusetts, I have to say that working at a Union facility is much better than working at NON Union facilities. I have never belonged to a union, amazingly enough, for I was always management/administration which I have to tell you is an eye opening experience. U Mass has been very crummy to these nurses when they were the ones that helped bail them out a few short years ago with HUGE concessions in pay and benefits...the promises U Mass made to these nurse were purposefully broke.
    
    Just food for thought. But you are right. They will be provided transportation to the campus...at least that is how it has been done in the past.
11. 
    May 19, '13

    I sent you a detailed PM, but in my opinion, make sure you are absolutely 100% confident in your ability to function as a nurse with one day of hospital orientation and ZERO unit/floor orientation. The money can be very good, but my motto is, there are hundreds of nursing jobs, but just one small incident can leave a spot on a nursing license forever. Good luck no matter what you choose.
12. 
    May 21, '13

    Well all have bills to pay and mouths to feed. As long as you are confident in your skills go for it.
13. 
    May 23, '13

    UMass Medical Center University Campus Nurses Reach Agreement, Strike Averted
    

    Nurses achieve safer staffing to protect patient care

    
    After hours of negotiations today the registered nurses of UMass Memorial Medical Center's University campus reached a tentative agreement with UMMMC management that provides the staffing improvements nurses sought to ensure their patients receive quality care at this level one trauma center. The settlement averts a strike, which was set to begin at 6 a.m. on Thursday.
    
    "The three-year contract provides for significant improvements in staffing levels on all floors with limits on nurses patients assignments we sought to ensure safe patient care," said Margaret McLoughlin, RN, chair of the local bargaining unit for the nurses, who are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United. "We believe this is a fair agreement that is a victory for all of us -- nurses, management and most important of all, our patients and community."
    
    http://www.massnurses.org/news-and-e.../openItem/8328
    
14. 
    May 24, '13

    Good for them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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