Does Texas have nursing unions?

mattsmom81 · Aug 18, 2005

Nope Tx is not a union state.. I'm a Mn nurse transplanted to Texas and it was a hard transition for me!

Union is a dirty word there. The state is 'employment at will' and we can be fired for anything or nothing (except if we are a federally protected group). I tried to unionize several times and the management administration teams there didn't care for my union activisim. Luckily I am a very good nurse and withstood much of their blackballing attempts; but they do go after nurses who are pro union...so if you move there watch what you say.

I am happy to be out of the area now to be honest, and back in a pro-union area. :)

On the flip side, there ARE lots of opportunities there...lots of big hospitals in the metro areas where a new nurse can get lots of good experience.

But...as you might expect...without a union presence the power lies with the administrative team, and nurses do not have much bargaining power.

blackberry, BSN, RN · Aug 18, 2005

Sounds like nurses are up against a wall :banghead: !! I appreciate your candor. I was thinking of moving down there next year to get some experience. But, I will do a bit more research. I do have my first job at a large teaching hospital on the University of Minnesota campus, so I will have lots of opportunities. However, Minnestoa is not in a nursing shortage, so getting into some areas of nursing are very competive.

Thanks again! I am glad you are in a place you love.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Aug 18, 2005

St. Michaels in Texarkana is unionized. Texas is a "right to work" state. This means if a union exists at a facility and I chose not to join it I am still represented by the union even though I don't pay dues. This waters down the union, of course. Unions ARE a dirty word here, especially for professionals like nurses. In East Texas (you will find that Texas is SO LARGE that we have divided it into regions) we have a small turnover rate.

mattsmom81 · Aug 18, 2005

St. Michaels in Texarkana is unionized.

Oh I remember you told me that once before and forgot! :rolleyes: I'm gettin' old... :chuckle

I stand corrected...have you heard of any other places?? I am impressed with the solidarity of the Texarkana nurses and wish their attitude was contagious in TX....

HTBA · Nov 15, 2011

Texas Nurse's need to step up and organize in the worst way!!! Some of the worst "good old boys' net works are alive and well in Texas hospitals. Why do you think hospital administration's are so afraid of Nursing unions....the nurse's would have control over their own profession and practice. Administrators would lose some of the 6 figure bonus's they get each year to maintain the unsafe staffing ratio's and lack of concern for patient acuity. Hospital administration threatens and intimidates (against the law) inorder to stop oranization. They can only carry though with intimidation BECAUSE we have no protection from them, and yes that is exactly what we need, they have had control TO LONG.....Lets stop allowing corprate america to tell us how to practice and take a stand...... Better our profession, by taking control of our profession will lead to better patient care and safty. A Happy Nurse makes for a better enviornment. I am not saying that organization via union would be a quick fix nor would it solve all the issues, however it would be a great start. :yeah: :nurse:

Side note to the comment posted about waiting to see how many nurse's would stop paying dues, stop paying for service they dont get.....you must be part of the problem not the cure, if you would sit back and watch instead of making sure nurse's get service they pay for. It takes participation....

Bortaz, MSN, RN · Nov 15, 2011

One of the hospitals in Houston, and one of them in McAllen are now union-represented, though neither has an agreed-upon and accepted contract yet.

I think more nurses in TX might be interested in the union if union organizers and supporters weren't so rabid in their approach. Quite often at my hospital, we have to run a gauntlet of tooth-gnashing union supporters bound and determined to ply us with ream after ream of print-outs, and you pretty much have to snap their necks to make them understand the words "I'm late for work, don't have time to listen to your sermon in this 105 degree heat, please clear the $%^^ sidewalk so I can pass through into the building."

Also, the "I know you don't support the union, but could you list 137 things you hate about this hospital and its administration, and sign your name and social security number along with 4 contact numbers and your next of kin. DON'T WORRY, IT WON'T BE USED FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN OUR RESEARCH. *wink wink nudge nudge*"

It gets kind of hilarious at times.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Nov 15, 2011

St. Michaels in Texarkana is unionized.

This PP is mistaken. CHRISTUS St Michael in Texarkana does not have any nursing (RN & LVN) union presence. The Federal FLSA provides protection for efforts to organize labor that cannot be overridden by any state laws so the presence (or absence) of nursing unions cannot be influenced by any state legislative activity.

NeoNurseTX, RN · Nov 17, 2011

I think a hospital in Cyfair outside of Houston is unionized.

samatthe · Oct 1, 2012

This is from 11 mo. ago:

Nurses at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Wednesday filed a charge against the hospital with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing administrators of refusing to negotiate on a policy they say encourages nurses to come to work when they are sick.

Brenda Landreville, a labor and delivery nurse at the 180-bed hospital and chief negotiator for the nurses' bargaining unit, said hospital policy allows nurses to be fired after six absences within a calendar year, and that they receive a verbal warning on the third absence.

"It encourages nurses to work when they're sick," Landreville said, "exposing fragile hospital patients and our co-workers to illness."

Lisa White, associate administrator and director of business development, denied in a statement that the hospital expects nurses to work when they are ill.

White said nurses are encouraged to find someone to work for them if they are ill. "If you find someone to work your shift, it doesn't count against you," she said.

'scuse me! But I just moved to TX from a NON-UNION state and THIS is how it worked where I just came from! Actually, I think it's a little generious. WE weren't ALLOWED six absences. We only were permitted four with TWO personal days which COULD be used for vacation - but you get my point.

Seriously, WHO ever misses six times in a year due to illness?!!?

Indigo_Beauty · Oct 1, 2012

This is from 11 mo. ago:
Nurses at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Wednesday filed a charge against the hospital with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing administrators of refusing to negotiate on a policy they say encourages nurses to come to work when they are sick.
Brenda Landreville, a labor and delivery nurse at the 180-bed hospital and chief negotiator for the nurses' bargaining unit, said hospital policy allows nurses to be fired after six absences within a calendar year, and that they receive a verbal warning on the third absence.
"It encourages nurses to work when they're sick," Landreville said, "exposing fragile hospital patients and our co-workers to illness."
Lisa White, associate administrator and director of business development, denied in a statement that the hospital expects nurses to work when they are ill.
White said nurses are encouraged to find someone to work for them if they are ill. "If you find someone to work your shift, it doesn't count against you," she said.
'scuse me! But I just moved to TX from a NON-UNION state and THIS is how it worked where I just came from! Actually, I think it's a little generious. WE weren't ALLOWED six absences. We only were permitted four with TWO personal days which COULD be used for vacation - but you get my point.
Seriously, WHO ever misses six times in a year due to illness?!!?

Well, I'm glad to see you are a superman/woman and accident proof. Too bad for everbody else :/