Anyone Staffed Strikes?

pday · Jun 3, 2000

Four thoughts;

1) Nurses who are organized have a powerful opportunity to move the quality care agenda forward. They have a right to bargain over terms and conditions of their empoyment- which includes workload issues such as nurse-patient ratios. They also can influence lawmakers(visit CNA website to see how they have influenced legislation on nurse -patient ratios) to pass safe staffing legislation.

2) A union should provide a democratic framework and be a vehicle for advancing what is in the best interest of nurses and their patients. The catch is that a democratic system cannot thrive if the MEMBERS don't participate; the members ultimitely have the power in unions.

3)Be careful comparing nursing to other business and occupations. The public places a high level of trust in nurses, and we need to act responsibly with that.

4)I have no anger towards you. My own conscience wouldn't let me work as a strikebreaker, you have to do what you think is right: economic gain vs. solidarity with other nurses.

lita1857 · Jun 3, 2000

well pday the plain answer is yes, I "cut" deals.My time is money-THEIRS.I quit messing around in 1993(started as RN in "77)I thought baseball/basketball/football players all for a living PLAY A GAME, yet they shamelessly negotiate for money...why not a nurse??? So I put my daughter thru college on my OT(paid cash)4yrs approx 17K per year.Right now I'm putting it towards retirement.Ever hear the saying "where there is a will...and yes it was me who complained about our ANA etc. haven't seen any results yet but that does require knowing what's going on in the trenches and the will to fight.Apparently no one , including nurses thinks we are worth it

CCRN1 · Jun 5, 2000

To those of you who are union and pro union, good for you. The world needs more strong nurses. Be active in your unions, let your voices be heard. Don't, however put your blinders on. Those of us who do travel to strikes are not there as "strikebreakers" . We do not want your jobs. Obviously, there is a poor enough situation to warrant strike. We are there for one thing. MONEY. This is good for the Union, as well. For every day we are in your hospital, we cost your hospital millions. We are guaranteed at least 3 days retainer, once on site. This includes housing, a higher pay rate, and sometimes food, too. All the while, you are still getting your regular benefits. So, NURSEYPERSON, go for it. But go in with your eyes open. As you can see, there are a lot of angry people out there.

nurseyperson · Jun 5, 2000

Thanks, CCRN1. I haven't yet gone to staff a strike, but I have researched it and, as I said before, I would do it. (maybe only once, tho!!!) There is a good travel site that is about travel nursing in all aspects, the companies, the assignements, good and bad, strikes, anything you can think of. It is http://www0.delphi.com/travelnurses/

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nurseyperson

lids · Jun 11, 2000

nurseyperson, i am only a nurse student and it upsets me that our fellow nurses will treat you badly.

1st it is not your fault that the strike is going on.

2nd pt. NEED care.

3rd if you don't do it, someone else will.

4th obviously non of us is only working for the money, otherwise we would have chosen a business , accounting,etc. kind of carrer.who in their right mine wants to clean buts and look at wounds just for the money?

More power to you nurseyperson, good luck

love lids

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pjh · Jun 11, 2000

As [/b]

There is a company in Colorado that staff strikes, It's called faststaf 1-800 743 6877.

rntrav · Jun 20, 2000

Yes I have done several. Had some excitement, been stranded, and not been completely compensated. oh yeah I also got to one destination where the hotel ws booked and I had to stay up all night. Regret it and willnever do it again. Besides it doesnt pay any better. It is the long hours , 7 days a week that make the large money. It's an experience!

Joankim · Jun 24, 2000

I can see this is a very "hot" topic with pros and cons. I have never been exposed to unions and nurses, my only experience is with the trades and blue collar workers. I have also had the question for years that what happens when nurses strike? Who cares for the patients. Maybe I am wearing rose colored glasses, but I went into nursing to be able to care for patients. I did not look at it a sa way to make the big bucks. My first job in 1979 paid $6.74 per hour and I thought I was in heaven!! I ahd neber seen that kind of money. I do think the years have changed my opinion, because I am thinking about staffing stikes and yes , it would be for the money, but also to care for patients. I have done managed care for the past 3 years and I know for a fact that many HMO patients have no choice but to go to the stiking hospitals and no other. When nurses stike, the insurance companies do not go out and renegotiate contratcs with other area hospitals to take their patients for the duration of the stike, for several reasons. #1: Why would a nother hosptial change their rates with an insurance company, who is a BIG enemy to them. They would not cut a rate because they do not have to. Then what about the doctors? Are they contracted to practice at other hosptials? There are so many underlying factors about why patients cannot go to other hospitals, and they SHOULD be our prime concern. If I had to work 12 hour shifts 6 out of 7 days a week for 3-4 weeks and make $3000 to $4000 per week, why not?

Do nurses really have to stike in order to be heard? I do not know the answer to this. I did pay attention to comments about the stike in MYACK and after striking for over 5 months they, the nurses did really not get all that mush more then what they left with. Is it really worth it? The nurses at Stanford want a 11% raise.The union is offering 4%. I am sure there is more. But is not the union causing these nurses to become greedy?

As far as solidarity goes..... I am LOL!! Having been a nurse for 21 years and as ANY nurse knows, NURSES DO NOT SUPPORT THEIR FELLOW NURSES!!!! PERIOD!!! Oh, there are humanitarians out there, but overall not!! We criticize each other constantly. We want to be proffessionals, but cannot grow up enough to respect each other as human beings. ALl the bickering about which shift is best yada yada yada....

Sorry this is so long, but I had to express my opinion. I am sure I will get blasted, and I am more than willing to listen to what the TRUe purpose of unions are. Just out of curiosity, anyone know what percentage of hospitals are unionized in the US?

Peace,

Joan

rntrav · Jun 24, 2000

I agree few nurses stict together & support each other like Doctors do. This is why I strongly support nuursing unions. But I do ot support the travel companies out there filling their pockets by staffing strikes. They dont treat nurses any better!

We need a union for nurses who staff them.

nurseyperson · Jun 29, 2000

Joankim,

I totally agree with you. I have also thought about the patients in the hospital. Insurance companies certainly won't pay for a transfer to another hospital, I'm sure Medicaid and Medicare won't, private pay can't, so I would think the transferring hospital will absorb the cost. But what about all the extra charges from the admitting hospital? And what you said about Drs. have priviledges at the other hospitals...the patients may not get their own doctors to take care of them. What about those too unstable to transfer? HMOs? The pro union people say most people are tranferred out and if nurses didn't come in and staff the strike it would be over in 1 day. But my Mother or daughter (or anyone else's) in critical condition in the ICU can't last one daywithout good care. I don't want to put down the people who believe in strikes and would be loyal to their union. I hope they get what they want. Nothing else seems to work in getting us what we want...except our hospital RNs got an overall $1.50 raise when everyone was quitting and half of our staff was travellers. The hospital actually must have gotten the hint. Now for all the other stuff we want.....

Nurseyperson

Patricia Smith · Jul 31, 2000

Well, this IS a very hot topic Indeed--I can't help but wonder in what age group or how long nurseyperson has been a nurse? Five years ago I lost my job because I was attempting to organize a union for nurses...yes, nurseyperson, I am the breadwinner of my family (and with four children--no easy chore) I was fired for "solicitation"--I think I paid the ultimate price for what I believed in! And, due to all of the non-support of my fellow nurses--our union vote didn't go through. I didn't attempt to do this for "money"! It was for my patients--I was tired of not having enough blood pressure cuffs in the recovery room--Administration changed our titles from RN's to PCC (patient care coordinators--so the patient wouldn't know WHO was WHO) Patient care technicians who mopped the floors were performing 12 lead EKG's..I could go on and on. During the time I was "out of work" from the hospital, I worked registry--I made plenty of money and didn't have to step on anybody's toes to do it! YOU are the reason we don't have union's--total NON-SUPPORT of your fellow nurses--SHAME ON YOU!!

maikranz · Aug 1, 2000

I wasn't going to add my $0.02, but I just couldn't resist asking a question--rhetorical, mind you.

Of all of you who moan and whine about how ANA does nothing for nurses or that it doesn't have the will to get in the trenches: How many of you and your co-workers are members of ANA and/or your state nurses association? If you don't support your SNA, how can they advocate for you? MDs support the AMA, even if they don't necessarily support its stand on some issues, and as a result, they have the numbers and strong lobbies.

So what's the deal with nurses?

I ask the question repeatedly--Can you all not imagine the power NURSING would have IF WE ALL JOINED TOGETHER. But we won't because we perceive ourselves as being victims and powerless. Management doesn't have to worry about unionization--we're too busy wringing our hands and being scared instead of being proactive and advocating for ourselves, and ultimately our patients. The nurses at Nyack weren't striking for $$; it went way beyond that, and yes, the state nurses association was there.

If you are members of your state association, good for you. Now get active.

I've been on both sides of a strike, nursing and factory workers, and neither is pleasant.

The other question I have been curious about is why would nurses not go to their nursing union or to their state nurses association's collective bargaining arm, and instead, go to a non-nursing union like the Teamsters?

See y'all and don't bite my head off!