Union- good or bad?

Nurses General Nursing

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A hospital in my area that I was hoping to work at once I graduate recently

held a nurses vote to go union. It passed, but not overwhelmingly. I was wondering what are your thoughts. Are unions wonderful or terrible?

thanks for your thoughts and opinions!

Moon

If you choose to work at a facility where the nurses are represented by a union it may be:

1. Union Shop. This means all employees as defined in the contract must pay dues. There are some exceptions for religios reasons. Seventh Day Adventists and others may donate to a charity instead.

2. Fair Share means a choice of joining and paying dues or paying less to cover the costs of bargaining and enforcing the contract.

3. Open Shop means you have a choice about whether to join and if you choose not to join you pay nothing. The union is still required to represent you. An example would be if you were not paid overtime for working a holiday in the contract the union would be required to represent you and get proper pay.

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moongirl why not do a search of this website.

There are tons and tons and tons already written on this topic and these threads always end up closed.

actually I did a search and it looked like one 3 out of 275 threads were closed. Don't know where you think they always end up bad. Seems pretty civilized to me

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If you choose to work at a facility where the nurses are represented by a union it may be:

1. Union Shop. This means all employees as defined in the contract must pay dues. There are some exceptions for religios reasons. Seventh Day Adventists and others may donate to a charity instead.

2. Fair Share means a choice of joining and paying dues or paying less to cover the costs of bargaining and enforcing the contract.

3. Open Shop means you have a choice about whether to join and if you choose not to join you pay nothing. The union is still required to represent you. An example would be if you were not paid overtime for working a holiday in the contract the union would be required to represent you and get proper pay.

*** Thanks for the clarification. so much for those expensive ads in the last california campaigns where the unions insisted that one can always opt out paying union dues. I guess we can't always believe all those TV ads. CNA, where are you, please explain.

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I think you will find that unions benefit the more worthless employees. It is harder to fire the slackers and it creates an air of mediocrity. I worked at a Kaiser facility in California and the trash was overflowing from the cans at times the place was dirty and all anyone could talk about was money this and money that. I had nurses leave me a written report for shift change and were gone when I arrived. That would not be tolerated in a non union facility. Would be interesting to see patient outcomes in union vs. non union facilities. Unions served a valuable purpose in the early parts of the past century but now they are strictly self serving.

I didn't find that to be the case at all - we were still held to the same quality standards, and if they wanted to fire you it would be accomplished.

What the union did was to be your advocate, and help keep management in line.

The union worked to help improve conditions for the staff AND the patients.

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Specializes in Gerontology.

I don't like unions because they insist that everything is done by senority. If 2 people apply for the same job, the person with the most senority will get it - even if that person has high sick time, poor works ethics etc, they will get it over a person with no sick time and who has taken extra course etc, all because of senority.

I don't like unions because I am not given the choice to join or not.

Our hospital is not unionize. They match wages at unionize hospitals. We have a good open relationship with management. If a union comes in (like they are trying to do) we will probably lose that relationship.My wages and benfits will not change, but I will lose close to $700 a year to union dues.

I don't like unions because they protect poor workers.

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I'm not an RN (yet hopefully), I'm a caregiver that works in a group home. We are unionized and I hate it. Everything's locked into seniority instead of ability. Also as a newer employee, I don't have paid leave yet, and because of the union, I can't even choose to give my shift to someone else (they're "protecting me" from unpaid days). The only folks I've seen that needed their protection with management, I would have fired if I could have.

Like others have said, it depends on your union and your management team....but in my situation, I think the union just gets in the way and costs me money.

Peace,

Cathie

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*** Thanks for the clarification. so much for those expensive ads in the last California campaigns where the unions insisted that one can always opt out paying union dues. I guess we can't always believe all those TV ads. CNA, where are you, please explain.

Members may opt out of the portion of their dues that support political action. That may be what you remember.

I am VERY happy some of my dues money paid for the 12 year campaign enacting nurse to patient ratios, nurse title protection, restrictions on activities of unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) ( no UAP gives meds here!), whistle blower protection, staffing by scope, ratios, and acuity.

I am glad to have helped support the lawsuits that saved the Board of Registered Nursing, the assault on our ratios by both the governor and hospital industry.

But a member could opt out.

Some unions are against our "Clean Money Initiative" If I were one of their members I would write an opt out letter. That is all you have to do.

Arnolds initiative would have forced unions to get permission freom each member every year for political action. As it is now any member writes one letter to opt out of political action.

AND as many have posted many hospitals have no union representation. Lots of nurses choose to work where they don't have to pay dues.

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Let someone come into a union facility and not want to join a union they will be pressured into joining by the union members. They will make your life hell if you don't join the union.

Members may opt out of the portion of their dues that support political action. That may be what you remember.

I am VERY happy some of my dues money paid for the 12 year campaign enacting nurse to patient ratios, nurse title protection, restrictions on activities of unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) ( no UAP gives meds here!), whistle blower protection, staffing by scope, ratios, and acuity.

I am glad to have helped support the lawsuits that saved the Board of Registered Nursing, the assault on our ratios by both the governor and hospital industry.

But a member could opt out.

Some unions are against our "Clean Money Initiative" If I were one of their members I would write an opt out letter. That is all you have to do.

Arnolds initiative would have forced unions to get permission freom each member every year for political action. As it is now any member writes one letter to opt out of political action.

AND as many have posted many hospitals have no union representation. Lots of nurses choose to work where they don't have to pay dues.

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Specializes in Renal/Cardiac.
Let someone come into a union facility and not want to join a union they will be pressured into joining by the union members. They will make your life hell if you don't join the union.

I disagree with this bc where I work is union and I am not union and I do not get pressured about not paying union dues and I have never been threatened to be terminated bc I choose not to join

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