[HM2Viking]

Every member a steward
Every member an organizer

I do believe that in the long run of history that the arc bends towards justice (with apologies to MLK).

I don't necessarily think that all Texas nurses oppose organization. I think that the culture of labor intimidation practiced by management (AND CONDONED BY NLRB) has suppressed labor activism in the south.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the Employee Free Choice act becomes law with the next congress. My guess is that employees will feel free to associate for collective bargaining and gain real power in the workplace.

I also think that emerging demographic changes in the South will strengthen the labor movement in the south. Texas is becoming a majority/minority state and this demographic change tends to drive increased interest and support for the collective bargaining process.

[ZASHAGALKA]

Originally Posted by HM2Viking

Every member a steward
Every member an organizer

I do believe that in the long run of history that the arc bends towards justice (with apologies to MLK).

I don't necessarily think that all Texas nurses oppose organization. I think that the culture of labor intimidation practiced by management (AND CONDONED BY NLRB) has suppressed labor activism in the south.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the Employee Free Choice act becomes law with the next congress. My guess is that employees will feel free to associate for collective bargaining and gain real power in the workplace.

I also think that emerging demographic changes in the South will strengthen the labor movement in the south. Texas is becoming a majority/minority state and this demographic change tends to drive increased interest and support for the collective bargaining process.

Unions are on the slow fade, this is a demonstrated fact. Numbers are down, and down significantly. The Union Coercive Practices Act, even if passed, will not long contain that decline.

The secret ballot is secret, for good reason.

I don't know what south you are looking at, or, for that matter, what nation you are looking at. I see nowhere in the United States today where unions are making a comeback.

~faith,
Timothy.

[herring_RN]

I'm afraid that all too many corporations will put profit before patient care.

If that continues more nurses will realize that we need to work together.
It is good to work with a contract.

A professional association and union in one can improve
conditions for all patients and caregivers.

19,350 RNs IN 50 FACILITIES ORGANIZED
WITH CNA/NNOC from 2000 to 2006

California
Alvarado Hospital Medical Center
Antelope Valley Hospital, Lancaster
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
Brotman Medical Center
California Hospital Medical Center, LA
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Centinela Hospital Medical Center
Chapman Medical Center
Citrus Valley Medical Center, Covina
Coastal Communities Hospital
Community Hospital of Huntington Park
Community Hospital of San Bernardino
Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital
Glendale Memorial Hospital
Inland Valley Regional Medical Center
Long Beach Memorial Medical Center
Los Alamitos Medical Center
Mercy Southwest Hospital, Bakersfield
Mercy Hospital of Bakersfield
Olympia Medical Center, Los Angeles
Mission Hospital of Huntington Park
Palomar Medical Center, Escondido
Pomerado Medical Center, Poway
San Bernardino County
San Gabriel Valley Medical Center
San Pedro Hospital
St. Bernardine Medical Center
St. Mary Medical Center, Apple Valley
St. Mary Medical Center, Long Beach
Suburban Medical Center
Tri-City Medical Center
Western Medical Center, Anaheim
Whittier Hospital
Doctors Modesto Medical Center
General Hospital, Eureka
Marian Medical Center, Santa Maria
Mercy Medical Center, Redding
Mercy Medical Center, Mt. Shasta
Mercy Medical Center, Merced
O’Connor Hospital, San Jose
San Ramon Regional Medical Center
St. Dominic’s Hospital of Manteca
St. Joseph Hospital, Eureka
Sutter Lakeside Hospital
Sutter Medical Center, Santa Rosa
Twin Cities Community Hospital
Illinois
Cook County Bureau of Health Services
tier Hospital Medical Center
Nevada 2007
St. Mary's in Reno
Texas 2008
Cypress Fairbanks in Houston

http://www.calnurse.org/assets/pdf/cna101.pdf
http://www.calnurse.org/assets/pdf/nnoc_101.pdf

I may have missed one or more hospitals.

[Julia RN]

While the "rate" of union membership remained the same in 07 when compared to 06, union membership increased by 311,000 to 15.7 million

wage and salary workers in 2007.

"The number of representation petitions filed and elections held across all industries declined in 2007, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Unions successfully continued to organize the nation's healthcare industry, however. IRI Consultants and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) released the data and analysis in the 30th Labor Activity in Healthcare Report."

"Unions won 72 percent of representation (RC) elections held in healthcare in 2007 - versus a union win-rate of 62 percent in non-healthcare industries. The success rates for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) and various state nurses associations were even higher at 79, 80 and 83 percent, respectively. The SEIU accounted for 47 percent of all representation petitions filed in the healthcare industry in 2007."

See the article here: http://sev.prnewswire.com/health-car...8032008-1.html
The ASHHRA is part of the American Hospital Association- so this is not coming from a pro-union source. The article also mentions the activity in Texas.

[HM2Viking]

Clear description of management intimidation and interference with association rights for collective bargaining at



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJLjEvCSxew

The Employee Free Choice Act levels the playing field:

The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced as bipartisan legislation by Sens. Edward Kennedy
(D-Mass.) and Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.).

1. Certification on the Basis of Majority Sign-Up

Provides for certification of a union as the bargaining representative if the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) finds that a majority of employees in an appropriate unit has signed
authorizations designating the union as its bargaining representative. Requires the board to
develop model authorization language and procedures for establishing the validity of signed
authorizations.

2. First-Contract Mediation and Arbitration

Provides that if an employer and a union are engaged in bargaining for their first contract and
are unable to reach agreement within 90 days, either party may refer the dispute to the Federal
Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) for mediation. If the FMCS is unable to bring the
parties to agreement after 30 days of mediation, the dispute will be referred to arbitration, and
the results of the arbitration shall be binding on the parties for two years. Time limits may be
extended by mutual agreement of the parties.

3. Stronger Penalties for Violations While Employees Are Attempting to Form
a Union or Attain a First Contract

Makes the following new provisions applicable to violations of the National Labor Relations Act
committed by employers against employees during any period while employees are attempting
to form a union or negotiate a first contract with the employer:

a. Civil Penalties: Provides for civil fines of up to $20,000 per violation against employers
found to have willfully or repeatedly violated employees’ rights during an organizing
campaign or first contract drive.

b. Treble Back Pay: Increases the amount an employer is required to pay when an employee
is discharged or discriminated against during an organizing campaign or first contract drive
to three times back pay.

c. Mandatory Applications for Injunctions: Provides that just as the NLRB is required to
seek a federal court injunction against a union whenever there is reasonable cause to believe
the union has violated the secondary boycott prohibitions in the act, the NLRB must seek a
federal court injunction against an employer whenever there is reasonable cause to believe
the employer has discharged or discriminated against employees, threatened to discharge
or discriminate against employees or engaged in conduct that significantly interferes with
employee rights during an organizing or first contract drive. Authorizes the courts to grant
temporary restraining orders or other appropriate injunctive relief.

This fact sheet has been prepared by the AFL-CIO. For more information regarding the Employee Free
Choice Act, please call 202-637-5018.

ACT FREE CHOICE

ACT

FREE
CHOICE SUMMARY

AFL-CIO www.EmployeeFreeChoiceAct.org

http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voi...CA_Summary.pdf

[HM2Viking]

NLRB Elections: A Model for Authoritarian Regimes Abroad

This report describes what has become standard employer practice in response to workers’ desire to represent themselves through a union. The pages that follow detail the myriad strategies — both legal and illegal — that typically comprise employers’ efforts to deny their workers’ the right to collective bargaining. Many of these entail practices that our government routinely denounces when practiced by foreign regimes. But they have become commonplace in the American workplace. Among the most disturbing of these practices are:

Denial of free speech

At the heart of American democracy is the principle that both voters and candidates must be guaranteed the right to free speech, including equal access to information from all sides of a political debate. But this most fundamental principle is ignored by the NLRB. While management is permitted to plaster the workplace with anti-union posters, leaflets, and banners, pro-union employees are prohibited from doing likewise. Union organizers are banned from ever entering the workplace — or even publicly-used but company-owned spaces such as parking lots — at any time, for any reason. Employees of the company are banned from talking about forming a union while they are on work time, and are banned from distributing pro-union information except when they are both on break time and in a break room. Management consultants typically advise employers on how to maximize the impact of these one-sided advantages, resulting in an election environment that more closely resembles the sham "elections" of one-party states than anything we would call American democracy.

Economic coercion and intimidation

When employers speak out, employees always listen carefully for even the subtlest hints as to what kind of behavior will be rewarded or punished. This is all the more true in an economy where so many Americans feel insecure about their economic future. For this reason, federal election law maintains a blanket prohibition on private companies telling their employees which candidate they should support. Even making more nuanced statements — such as suggestions that if one party or the other triumphs, business may suffer and workers may have to be laid off — is illegal under federal law.
However, under standard "union avoidance" strategy, supervisors are forced, on pain of termination, to engage each of the people under them in intimidating one-on-one anti-union conversations. Workers commonly report illegal threats being made in these meetings, since there are no witnesses present

http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/...-nor-fair.html

Bottom line is that there should be equal time for both sides in an organizing campaign. I am glad that the Texas nurses were able to overcome the economic coercion. We need to support their efforts at achieving a fair and just contract.

[herring_RN]

Kelly Beringer, RN. told the truth.

[RN4MERCY]

I believe that the NNOC can and will survive in Texas, because nurses will collectively support an organization that promotes and defends the ideal, "first-do no harm." A strong union protects and defends RN whistleblowers from unjust retaliation by employers who try to marginalize and even fire those who actively try to change circumstances that are against the interests of patients. Every one of us has a vested interest in paying dues to support professional and patient advocacy! Silence on moral and ethical issues protects no one. A strong union, with a staff nurse controlled professional practice committee can collectively, and in unity confront management and collaborate on making real quality improvements in the environment of care.

New hospitals are all well and good, but when they have more computers, robots, valet parking, hospitality suites, flat screen TVs and concierge services than enough nurses to care for the medically fragile patients who require sophisticated nursing care, preventable complications and death rates will increase.

As Florence Nightingale said, “It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a hospital that it should do the sick no harm.”

Glistening new hospitals in more affluent neighborhoods are the tip of the iceberg of what's wrong with our whole healthcare system. A fresh coat of paint and fresh flowers in the foyer may give the appearance of cleanliness and efficiency and a great place to work environment.

However, the "Right to Abuse" workers remains-a "safe harbor" for employers to hide their dirty laundering of 'uppity' RNs who speak out against unfair and dangerous working conditions. Texas nurses are tired of being tossed in the chute. Cyfair nurses are demonstrating that there is a way out.

We're making the world a better place for workers, nurses, and patients...one hospital, one state, one law at a time. The process is slow and progress is the only option. That's why, collectively, we are pursuing national solutions, like Single-Payer Health Care, HR 676, and laws, like the Employee Free Choice Act. Dues are about supporting each other as nurses and workers-not everyone has the time or the ability to do the work, but we should collectively support those who do the work on our behalf.

[RN4MERCY]

Originally Posted by Julia RN

While the "rate" of union membership remained the same in 07 when compared to 06, union membership increased by 311,000 to 15.7 million

wage and salary workers in 2007.

"The number of representation petitions filed and elections held across all industries declined in 2007, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Unions successfully continued to organize the nation's healthcare industry, however. IRI Consultants and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) released the data and analysis in the 30th Labor Activity in Healthcare Report."

"Unions won 72 percent of representation (RC) elections held in healthcare in 2007 - versus a union win-rate of 62 percent in non-healthcare industries. The success rates for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) and various state nurses associations were even higher at 79, 80 and 83 percent, respectively. The SEIU accounted for 47 percent of all representation petitions filed in the healthcare industry in 2007."

See the article here: http://sev.prnewswire.com/health-car...8032008-1.html
The ASHHRA is part of the American Hospital Association- so this is not coming from a pro-union source. The article also mentions the activity in Texas.

Thanks for this, and your point is well taken; the source is a press release from a union bu$ting firm. Speaking of union bu$ting, did you see that the former Bu$h appointee to the National Labor Relations Board, Robert Batti$ta asked that hi$ re-appointment to the "Bu$h Board" be rescinded. He's found greener gra$$ as a partner in the notoriou$ union bu$ting firm, Littler Mendel$on.
http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/...5-562-311.html

Ho$pital A$$ociation$ could be $pending money on hiring more nurses to safely care for patients. Obviously they'd rather keep nurses from advocating collectively for their patients and their profession. The ho$pital lobby is all about paternali$tic control and domination of the largely female nursing workforce. There's a dark side to their so-called partnership councils, great place to work, and shared-governance magnet facades. In the words of, Frederick Douglass, "Power concedes nothing without a demand."

There are those who wave the white flag of surrender in advance of the fight. Frankly, I don't believe that there would be many nurses who are like that in Texas; I have yet to meet any. (Maybe they're hiding under a rock somewhere, but not for long.) I predict that Cyfair nurses are the vanguard of a great wave of NNOC organizing victories.

The more NNOC victories we achieve, we show "the man" we're not afraid; we know what's right, and we're going to fight to achieve it! We will organize to fight and protest their oppression of us-- for the freedom to speak, the freedom to associate, and the freedom to choose!

[RN4MERCY]

[quote=ZASHAGALKA;2831304]Unions are on the slow fade, this is a demonstrated fact. Numbers are down, and down significantly. The Union Coercive Practices Act, even if passed, will not long contain that decline."

Don't wave the white flag and dress for the funeral just yet, Timothy. Herring's post on all the CNA/NNOC victories demonstrate that we have a pulse good quality and strong. We're breathing new life into the labor movement. As it says in the book of proverbs, "without a vision, the people will perish."


"A Voice for Nurses and A Vision for Health Care". Hope overcomes fear and inertia, and we're mobilizing and organizing nurses because of it. We're organizing the labor unions and our communities to support a national health plan, HR 676.
http://www.guaranteedhealthcare.org/

Historically, nurses have always understood that their first duty is to act, to change circumstances as required, for the benefit of patients. Nursing advocacy, patient advocacy, social advocacy, political advocacy...collect the data, make an assessment, make a plan, implement the plan, evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions.

It's the nursing process. We have to "go back in the room", and change those circumstances that are barriers to our ability to restore our patients, our society, and our political system to optimum wellness. The CNA/NNOC is a professional and labor organization that is collectively helping us to promote, protect, and defend our right to do that, against a corporate culture dominated by the "money changers." It's time to throw them out of the temple of healing. Profit at the expense of the sick and injured is just plain evil.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MOTHER JONES!