unions

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Jan 2, 2008

Thanks for your response. Are you talking Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania? And can you tell me which company? I'd also like to know how long the union has been in place.
I'm also surprised that wages would be so much lower in an urban area than in my rural home state, where I expect to start at around $25 an hour.
Numerous studies, including this one commissioned by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, have found that unionized nurses enjoy significantly higher wages. This study also concluded that nurses' wages are higher in cities with a stronger union presence -- for both union members and nurses who are not in unions.

Yes, Pittsburgh, PA UPMC owned hospitals, their psych hospital (western psych) starts nurses out significantly lower than medical hospitals UPMC also owns, the psych hospital is the union hospital, whereas the medical ones do not have unions I can't tell you how long they've had a union, but I know it was before they were bought out by UPMC.

Pittsburgh has over a dozen hospitals in a very short area, the majority of these hospitals are owned by UPMC. IMO, this brings salaries down. I know I would make more money if I went back to Ohio, even though Pittsburgh has more job opportunities.

Freedom42 · Jan 2, 2008

Yes, Pittsburgh, PA UPMC owned hospitals, their psych hospital (western psych) starts nurses out significantly lower than medical hospitals UPMC also owns, the psych hospital is the union hospital, whereas the medical ones do not have unions I can't tell you how long they've had a union, but I know it was before they were bought out by UPMC.
Pittsburgh has over a dozen hospitals in a very short area, the majority of these hospitals are owned by UPMC. IMO, this brings salaries down. I know I would make more money if I went back to Ohio, even though Pittsburgh has more job opportunities.

Interesting. I cannot access job info on the UPMC website. I'm curious, though, as to why anyone would work at a hospital paying a nurse less than $20 an hour. I did find an article from 2006 that said Allegheny union nurses in Pittsburgh would start at $21.50 an hour, with guaranteed raises of 18.5 percent over the life of the contract. (I also found a nasty reference to UPMC declaring nurses "ineligible" for raises after more than 15 years on the job. Could that be what's suppressing your wages?)

If the pay is that terrible, what are nurses, non-union and union alike, doing about it?

Music in My Heart · Jan 2, 2008

Having spent 15 years as a professional in a non-unionized field (engineering) I can tell you one huge benefit of collective bargaining contracts: The middle-aged folks aren't easily tossed aside in favor of the younger, cheaper folks.

There's a grim joke among the middle-aged engineers: "What's the most common career move for a mid-40's engineer? Behind the counter at Radio Shack." The ones I've seen personally have ended up as auto service writers or working the floor at Lowe's.

I'd far rather put up with the problems of a union but a guaranteed job (given my competency and the economic health of the organization) than being easily tossed aside because I can be replaced by somebody cheaper.

Bonny619 · Jan 2, 2008

The hospital I just took a job at is union and has some of the highest wages in the area, not to mention amazing benefits. I already signed my union card!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jan 2, 2008

i'm a nursing student and i'm married to a 30 year veteran of the nursing field. why don't nurses develop and join a union so that they would have decent retirement and medical benefits, why any answers out there? dave5000

sadly, many nurses feel that belonging to a union makes them "less professional." unfortunately, it seems to take a union to make hospitals treat us like the professionals we are.