Could my Nursing Union Help me?

[NurseNinja1990]

Here's my situation: I'm trying to get my hours reduced from 7 12-hour shifts per pay periods down to 6 per pay period so I can stay full-time and have a little more time for school. I asked my nurse manager for approval and she denied me. I thought this was strange, because I work with 2 nurses on the same unit but another rotation who have this exact agreement that I'm asking for. I even went out of my way and called nurses on our payroll if they'd be interested in taking a day from me. I found a Per Diem nurse who wanted to take one of my days for me and so I sent the request again. Again, my request was denied. I'm feeling frustrated that my manager isn't willing to give me the same agreement that was given to other nurses on my same unit and wondering if now is the time to go to my nursing union or escalate it to the director of nursing for my hospital.

What are your thoughts?

*I should also note, another nurse I work with told me that in 21 years she's never seen that kind of request denied, especially since in doing so they wouldn't have to pay me overtime each paycheck.

tl;dr: My nurse manager denied my request which was approved for other nurses and should I go to my union.

[caliotter3]

How badly do you want this and do you feel you can survive crossing your manager?

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

You didn't tell us how long you'd been at that job, or how recently you've graduated from nursing school. It matters. Many managers expect new employees -- especially new grads -- to stay at the specific FTE (full time equivalency) they've been hired into for up to a year following successful completion of orientation. That may be why your manager has denied you. If you are on disciplinary status for any reason, that could be another reason for the denial. Check your employee handbook -- that should spell it out for you if indeed these are contractual issues. The next step -- before going above your manager's head is to talk to her and ask her why she denied your request. Don't bring any other nurses into it -- that's simply not relevant. You want to know why she denied YOUR request. And if that doesn't yield some answers, yes it may be time to get the union involved.

[NurseNinja1990]

Well, I've been a nurse for 3 years and employed there about 2 years. My union handbook says Article X, Section 9:

"The employer will make every effort to schedule employees working towards a higher degree in accordance with taking requests made in order for the employee to attend classes".

I don't feel that what I'm asking is too unreasonable, especially when I found someone to cover for that day for her and several other nurses have already been approved for this currently- within my unit and across the hospital, some of which have less experience than I do.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Well, I've been a nurse for 3 years and employed there about 2 years. My union handbook says Article X, Section 9:

"The employer will make every effort to schedule employees working towards a higher degree in accordance with taking requests made in order for the employee to attend classes".

I'm not reading that as changing FTEs. I read that as working with the employee as to regular days off for class or allowing for a different shift if needed. Also, every effort doesn't entail simply reducing an FTE and backfilling with per diem. Loss of an FTE, even a partial one, can make it difficult for a manager to get positions approved as vacancies. I know that with my employer, the unit has a set amount of FTE to fill. However, we would never find someone willing to fill a 0.2 FTE position because someone wanted to drop a single shift in a pay period. Per diems aren't meant to replace an already existing FTE because someone wants to reduce their hours.