[zenman]

Here is what I say: "The union is You. It ain't your momma or your daddy. It ain't your girlfriend or boyfriend, so don't try to screw it.

My DI said something to this effect when I went in boot camp only his version was x-rated.

The union will put its ass on the line for you if you put your ass on the line for the union."

But remember that the union comes first.

I moved this portion of your post here:

It only works if you work it, support it, feed it. You only get out of it what you put in it.

Glad you agree that little has changed in 30 years. Now you're starting to get close to the solution. This might spur you on: "Nurses are the cause of everything that has happened to them."

[teeituptom]

Well Cadeusus2004

I will say you make some good points there.

But the one thing you are missing as do most pro unionists is that SCABS are not your enemy. They never have been and they never will be. They are only out to make a buck ok make it a big buck or two. If you are going to decide you have an enemy then you need to look at Administration and no farther.
I have never said scabs help the situation of prounionists. But they dont hurt it in the least, in fact not at all. I am just there for the money honey.
And as you say, probably the one thing that hurts pro unionist the most is the Image that is provoked of medicocre " mass laborers" No enterpreneurs allowed. So for nurses to excell it has to be on their own level and not a "mass Labor force" level.
This breeds the old saying
Unions, a dictatorship of mass medicority.

or as Frank Sinatra sang


"I did it my way"

[Erin RN]

I recently read the book "Packinghouse daughter" about a meatworkers strike in the midwest way back when..this thread reminded me a little of it.

I have worked at both union and non union hospitals. I was HIGHLY unimpressed with our union. We have two hospitals here that are "sisters" one is HUGE and one is moderate sized. I worked at the moderate sized one. What I saw was that the union did everything they could for the larger hospital..the RNs over there made, on average $$3-4 more an hour than we did and had better staffing ratios. The larger hospital was continually in the paper since the nurses there were unhappy..union spokespeople were always quoted as to how they were making things better for those nurses..ahem, on my dues I guess.

My question is this..and I do not intend to ruffle feathers here rather only see if others feel this way...

Nursing is struggling with its professional image..do any of you feel that going "on strike" contributes to this. Historically, blue collar workers strike ie: coal miners, aluminum workers, foundry workers, meatpackers..you don't see MDs, Lawyers, stockbrokers and the like strike..probably because they have no union, I know but in any case do you think that by striking we are in some ways identifying ourselves as "blue collar" workers and that, that could be one reason why our wages never crawl to the "professional" level and why we are expected to put up with poor working conditions..Essentially do you feel that striking takes away from the "professionalism of nursing?? Erin

[cadeusus2004]

Zenman,
Good perspective. I will download this one and your others. It will make us all look at both sides of the issue.
One fine book is "Kohler On Strikes". I have it and have read it. Some your points are in that book.
When the auto industry after WWII started really mass producing automobiles, they became almost wholly unionized. This made the UAW workers some of the highest paid in the world and they bought the very cars they built which improved sales and son on and so forth. The standard of living wnet way up.
To counter this supposed 'loss of profit as perceived by the owners' they sped up production lines so that quality went down. By the late 1960s and into the early 1970s American autos had the worst quality records. Then 1973 hit with the OPEC scandal and mismanagement in many industries and we got ourselves what many people call a National Depression. This mismanagment continued and places like Bethlehem, Pa., Flint, MI,' US Steel, American Motors and the supplying businesses closed down. And, it wasn't about unions, though some blamed them.
Unions such as the Steamfittes, Plumbers, Electricians, Steel Workers, Transit Workers, Carpenters and Allied Health helped to keep standards high and tried to make them higher. they already had schools. the MNA constantly has classes and courses for certifications and specialty updates and works hard to keep the professional standards as high as they can make them. I regularly take them. Others, unfortunately, did not. The worst hit was PAL, which Reagan actually disbanded for their tactics (their reasons were justified, but not their methods). Others, already so riddled with corruption and organized crime, like the UMW and the Teamsters, took awful beatings. Walter Reuther spun in his grave. The Machinists and Aerospace Workers, headed by the avowed Socialist, "Wimpy" Winpissinger, played it smart and used negotiation tactics and kept his union visciously clean, always inviting the IRS to "come and look at the books".
(Unfortunatey,in the Aerospace industry, there are union goons, enforcers, who are there to make sure management doesn't go messing around with their work (read "Air Frame").
I am union. I hate and will not tolerate mediocrity. Most of my colleagues will not, either. Saturn, a unionized auto company in Springhill, TN, is known for one of the highest auto standards in the world. The best auto I think you can buy is built right here in America, Lexus. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is one of the highest rated family cars according to consumer magazines.
In Nursing, the onset of the 12hr. workshift, patient overloading, forced OT is just another thing for 'work speed-up'. Its unsafe and almost forces mediocrity. It won't do it.
If we unions have the repuation for mediocrity, we need to change it very quickly.
I want that screed totally made obsolete and ridiculous.

[cadeusus2004]

Teeituptom,
Good points and good letter. Just a few corrections and claifications. Remember the situations.
The AMA, ACS, and other medical representative organizations, do indeed have unions. They are professional associations with huge lobbying power and powers within hospitals. They help by certifying specialities, assuring safe workplace standards for residents and help maintain high clinical standards. The American Medical Students' Association has made great strides in helping see that student physicians are not 'enslaved' and the 72hr. rotation for residents is all but gone.
But, they have one difference from us: They are there, above all, to protect the physician. Because of their various specialty groups and the fact that they have "Ethical Collegiality" writs and "Medical Review Rounds", especially for clinical screw-ups, they maintain high standards. Besides, medical education consists of students that are so highly motivated and competitive and smart, only those with already high performance standards get in. And these are students which already have degrees where they were valedictorians or in the top 3% of their classes.
Most have IQs of 132 or better.
Lawyers are governed by their firms. If a lawyerdoesn't cut the mustard, he or she is simply fired and must go look for some other way to practice. The judges, many of whom are also professors, know who is and who isn't. They also have prior degrees.
The Airline Pilot's Association is more like a union. Many of these people not only have prior degrees, but have hundreds of hours of seat time in the military or as private pilots. The companies and the government requires constant ogoing training. Right now the Association is fighting short crews and long shifts. If the airline goes under the APA pays a 'layoff' stipened for anywhere from $2000-4000/mo. It provides healthcare benefits and representation.
Radio Talk show hosts have an association, started by none other than Art Bell. It is a collegial organization formed to support its members in job security and other help matters. It also helps to try to regulate on-air behavior. (Howard Stern is on the hot seat right now with them. He is not a member, but Bob & Tom are and so is Don Imus, as well as Rush Limbaugh, Gordon Liddy, Paul Sullivan, David Brudnoy, Matt Drudge and Mike Reagan. they are also regulated by a code of ethical collegiality)
The American Dental Association, because nearly all its members are in private practice, concentrates on legislation in the healthcare field and advances in the art and science of periodontics, orthodontics, oral reconstructive surgery and especially pediatric dentistry (its biggest patient base and its greatest success). Insurance companies and market price competitiveness, as well as patient referrals, keep in line. It also has a code of collegial ethics.
I could go on.

[eddy]

This has turned into a very good discussion, and I am enjoying the dialogue quite a lot.

With that said, I thought I would throw in a little something, not quite as intellectual as many of the excellent posts here but what the heck.

With the talk about car manufacturing, I got to thinking...

Let's say that a union in the car industry chooses to strike due to the automaker's lack of response to unsafe working conditions, mandatory OT rationalized by the need to meet production deadlines and improper or non-existent training of employees thrown into new elements of the process due to short staffing at a particular segment of the assembly line resulting in a car that was proven unsafe to drive.

So the strike happens. The managers call in the "scabs" so they can ensure the cars get made and out on the lots. Of course, these fill ins get little or no training and have a hard time finding tools and so forth, but the cars are getting produced, though most likely even in a worse condition due to the obvious.

To me it seems pretty crazy to allow such a thing to happen. I mean, isn't that just compounding a problem? Yet this is very much how I see it in the nursing world.

[cadeusus2004]

Eddy,
I see what you mean. It becomes even more of a safety matter.
But, if a company will not respond, unionization process occurs.
The union, called by a number of nurses, presents to the administration, its intention to begin recruitment for official representation and inspects the facility for work violations, lack of legal postings, etc., correcting these first.
Then, it starts to recruit by posting information, gathering petitioning members, leafleting, calling, distributing factsheets, printing, sending news releases, keeping the government apprised. It must also share with the company all the information it has- and the company its. Lawyers' are contacted.
The union will send a recruitment team.
The company can respond by starting its own campaign- usually of scare tactics. They pay the workers for lunchtime and the worker must sit and listen to company spokesmen say how bad unions are and how the company will improve things. These 'paid lunches' continue. Its a huge expense for the company.
The company can reatchet down things by firing pro-union workers for whatever reasons. It is easy since RNs are not unusually covered by Wage Hour. The company puts heat on these workers so they will also quit. The managers usually get this job, though the company may have 'plants' who are "squealers" wh also pry into private lives.
Informational pickets begin. They must be done off the property. However, the informational pamphlets, once an organizaing effort is announced, can be distributed by workers off the clock and on the property, unless it is deemed to interfere with "free movement and facility operation". Usually tables are set up in lobbies or in break rooms.
At a certain point, there must be voting to accept the union, or not. If a simple majority affirms, the place is unionized and contract negotiation committees are formed, then the contract reps come and negotiate with management.
The union makes a "tender offer". This is rejected out-of-hand by management. More meetings and more negotiations both by committee with the members and with management.
This is a slow process. Floor work goes on.
If, at some point, the membership so chooses, it may "walk out".
That's a strike. Others include "Blue Flu" and filings for "emergency leave". Strike pickets occur. The company brings in "temporary crises teams" (scabs), paid at huge rates. Strikers are paid a very small stipend so long as they picket or participate in the strike action. (saving money for this occuance is important). Strikers may take agency work. Negotiations continue.
If, after a time, the parties don't agree, "ombudsmen", sit and decide. This is called "Binding Arbitration". Both sides must agree to it. Since both are losing blood, the contract is usually signed and the strike is over. Contracts are normally 3 yrs.
That's how it works.
Beginning to end, the first contract is the toughest.

[zenman]

Just as a side note, my first contact with union workers was when I was working for a staffing agency and filled in for a nurse in the medical office at a GM plant. All day long, mostly males will file in to get minor scrapes, banged knuckles, aching backs, etc. seen. I asked some of the regular nurses if this was an everyday occurance (it was) because if these same guys were out fishing and got a hook caught in their own bodies, they would just rip it out and continue fishing.

[cadeusus2004]

Zenman,
I loved that one. Its so true. Besides, if the wound becomes infected, the company pays and fisherman doesn't have to go to his doctor and co-pay, then co-pay for the meds. Personally, I'd rather be fishing.
Bumper sticker:
My wife told me to quit fishing or she'd leave me. God, I'm going to miss her.