Anyone gone union?

[liljsmom02]

The nurses at the hospital I work at have been tossing the idea of bringing in a nursing union. We have been treated lke dirt for a while now and have tried to resolve major issues with the hospital president who has been making promises for the last year but avoids us like the plague when we try to get him to meet with us. So what I want to know is if there are any union nurses out there and how they feel being unionized has worked?

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

I dont know, maybe Mexico or Canada

I love it when you weigh in.

I'm not a believer personally in unions and so would not join one. Not saying things are always peachy keen without one.

Part of the reason is that unions are overwhelmingly liberal and so use dues for things I disagree with.

steph

[Genista, BSN, RN]

I am pro union. My 1st nursing job was in a non union hospital, and frankly, we nurses had no voice and it sucked! I applied to another hospital where nurses happened to be already unionized, because working conditions there were so much better. If employers would be reasonable and negotiate with the staff, and actually listen to them, maybe there would be no need for unions. I am so glad for my union representation that helps keep my workload safe, my pay competative, and addresses the issues of concern for staff nurses. The management is clueless at to what we really do, and without union representaiton, they would leave us hanging out to dry (I know from hearing their ridiculous proposals). Go union!

[WindwardOahuRN, RN]

Personally I love unions, Unions go on strike and I fly out for a few weeks and get strike busting pay. So I really do love unions.

LOL---You and Zenman! :::High Five:::

[nell]

Wouldn't it be nice if hospitals treated their workers fairly and unions weren't needed.

Around here there are at least three different kinds of unions - a national one that represents different kinds of workers, a statewide one that represents RNs only, and (my personal favorite) individual hospital-based ones.

Three large and very different facilities in our area each have their own hospital-based union. These tailor their contracts to the specific needs of RNs at each facility. It's a lot of work for the officers, but they are very in touch with the needs of their members. Generally, dues are less and rarely, if ever, spent on lobbying.

good luck,

nell

[puggymae]

I vote union all the way. Although some people have bad experiences (just like in every situation) with unions I have had nothing but positive experiences.

[kukukajoo, LPN]

I don't think I could ever cross a picket line in any field. We had a case where aides almost voted to strike and I talked my boss out of crossing the line and sending in temps.

The issues were safety related as well as compensation. I felt that if we crossed the line we were saying we did not support the efforts of the aides which is quite untrue as we prided ourselves as being a good company all around.

Bottom line, it went against the grain of the company vlaues that I worked with and would have prevented us from getting future help and referrals if this came to a strike and we crossed the line. Sometimes small towns suck, other times they are great!

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Ive been in union jobs and non union

Never again would I go union.