[northshore08]

I am new to the idea of unions for nurses. I have been an RN since 1986, but the areas of the country I worked in were never union. So since I have come to Oahu, I have read all I could about the HNA and nurses unions in general, but I have a couple of questions I cannot find the answers to.

1. Are nurses members of the union by themselves without being employed by specific facilities? Or does each hospital have its own union?
2. How much are union dues? Are they state-wide, or are they hospital specific?
3. Can you choose whether to participate in the union or not? How does it affect being employed "at-will?"

Thanks for your answers!

[RNinfamily]

Hi!

I've been here almost 3 years working in a military clinic and have not heard of a nursing union.

Is this just with hospital nurses?

[redeyefan214]

Originally Posted by northshore08

I am new to the idea of unions for nurses. I have been an RN since 1986, but the areas of the country I worked in were never union. So since I have come to Oahu, I have read all I could about the HNA and nurses unions in general, but I have a couple of questions I cannot find the answers to.

1. Are nurses members of the union by themselves without being employed by specific facilities? Or does each hospital have its own union?
2. How much are union dues? Are they state-wide, or are they hospital specific?
3. Can you choose whether to participate in the union or not? How does it affect being employed "at-will?"

Thanks for your answers!

Probably your best bet would be to go to the HNA website (www.hawaiinurses.org). From what I can remember, HNA represents the nurses that want to join. There are representatives at each hospital. Each of the Big Five have nurses that are part of the union. The HNA group is really easy to talk to if you want information. Just call them up and ask or go on the website and see what you can find.

[northshore08]

Hi redeyefan! I did read over the HNA website, and could not find any info on the questions I posted above. Since I'm doing agency predominately at this time, I will probably not worry about it unless faced with the choice in the future. I also read the union thread on allnurses--that was interesting. From what I've been able to gather from the outside looking in, it just seems to be more politics to deal with in an already conflict-rich environment, and it costs money besides. That doesn't sound like the best deal to me. But then, I've never been forced to do mandatory overtime.
Still looking for answers.....Thanks for your help.

[redeyefan214]

no problema - you could always call them. They've been nice to work with so far and I'm just a nursing student. And yes, it's always political - I don't think there's any union that isn't (my husband is part of one - his is mandatory). How do you like working for an agency?

[northshore08]

I like it! You've got to be more self-guided about job requirements (certifications and such) but you get a lot more freedom. The freedom is new to me...I've always been hospital based. It does take away that part of your job where you want to get involved and fix stuff. It reduces the work to patient care. That's a nice change.

[suanna]

I've worked for 3 hospitals. Two had unions. I've been on the board of our local union and serverd on the negotiating comittee once. One hospital in town may have a union while the others do not. You can belong to some of the support organizations of a union (state nursing assoc.) but to be a member of the union it is usualy required that you be a non-management staff member at the center that has the nurses union(hospital). Dues vary from state to state and with whatever organization is providing the union support- state nurses association, teamsters, AFLCIO... You will pay the national and/or state dues and in addition, may pay smaller dues to the local to which you belong. You cannot be forced to join a union- there is no such thing as a closed shop, but you may have to contribute a near equivalent amount to the non bargaining division of the organization or another charity. This is called a fair share contribution. Please think about it if you are the lease bit uncomfortable taking a position at a unionized hospital. The nurses in the union have put thier jobs on the line, may have lost weeks, or mos of pay for better pay and working conditions if they have ever faced a strike. You may be asked to participate in a strike if the union membership decides it is necessary. If you will not support a strike you have no business hiring in at a hospital that has a union. You are effectively stealing the efforts of the nurses who do go on strike for your own personal gain (if you know you would never strike yourself). A union can be a great way to make your voice heard both at your local workplace and on a national level. After reading the many posts in this forum I can't believe there are any nurses who wouldn't want to be backed by a unified voice and have thier work rules clearly spelled out and uniformly applied. Search this forum for "union" and you will get a lot of answers.

[Pualehuanani]

Originally Posted by northshore08

Hi redeyefan! I did read over the HNA website, and could not find any info on the questions I posted above. Since I'm doing agency predominately at this time, I will probably not worry about it unless faced with the choice in the future. I also read the union thread on allnurses--that was interesting. From what I've been able to gather from the outside looking in, it just seems to be more politics to deal with in an already conflict-rich environment, and it costs money besides. That doesn't sound like the best deal to me. But then, I've never been forced to do mandatory overtime.
Still looking for answers.....Thanks for your help.

Hi Northshore. Once you have been forced to do mandatory overtime repeatedly you might appreciate the HNA. If it were not for the HNA we would still be making $20/hr and working mandatory overtime, sixteen hour shifts and expected to be back after five hours sleep.
The non-union hospital nurses in Hawaii benefit from the HNA contracts because they are in competition with the union hospitals. The non-union hospitals match the union hospitals because if the did not they would not attract any nurses.
So the efforts and work of the HNA nurses benefit all.
Have you decided what hospital you will work at?
Good luck to you and welcome to Hawaii!

[northshore08]

currently recovering from several 3-3 shifts....

Mahalo for your kind welcome!

Yep, competition is a good thing. You are right; the unions seem to be setting the standard for the other facilities.

[northshore08]

Pali Momi was kind enough to hire me.... I like it there. They have a great ED. But I still have my hand in with Island Nurses occasionally.