The neutrality agreement the CNA and the SEIU obtained between Tenet Healthcare and the SEIU has been ruled as "Illegal Assistance to Unions" by the National Labor Relations Board. This precident was set after a suit filed by a Los Angeles area RN from Whittier Hospital Medical Center.
The Hospital has formally anounced that they will no longer recognize the CNA as the bargaining agent for the Registered Nurses at that facility. Talks with the SEIU have ended. The CNA has also agreed to REFUND union dues collected under this illegal agreement.
This affects Tenet and former Tenet employees who may have had dues collected illegally under this "Neutrality Agreement". If your hospital voted in the CNA and/or the SEIU under this agreement and the union won but not by a majority of the bargaining unit you may be able to have the results of the election overturned and your unlawfully collected dues refunded to you.
Some of us (yes even RNs) think the ratios are too strict with the "AT ALL Times" thing. I should know if I can handle watching out for my coworker's patients while she uses the bathroom and not have that legislated for me.
Oh c'mon. We had this clarified at my hospital by the State. I know for sure that in critical care, it's okay for a nurse to go to the bathroom or step away from the bedside to get supplies. What this "at all times" pertains to is meal breaks.
How on earth would anyone know a nurse went to the bathroom on a med/surg floor unless someone was watching and following her/his every move?
Oh c'mon. We had this clarified at my hospital by the State. I know for sure that in critical care, it's okay for a nurse to go to the bathroom or step away from the bedside to get supplies. What this "at all times" pertains to is meal breaks.
How on earth would anyone know a nurse went to the bathroom on a med/surg floor unless someone was watching and following her/his every move?
Same situation with Tele and Med Surg where I work. Coverages are only required for meal breaks.
Oh c'mon. We had this clarified at my hospital by the State. I know for sure that in critical care, it's okay for a nurse to go to the bathroom or step away from the bedside to get supplies. What this "at all times" pertains to is meal breaks.
How on earth would anyone know a nurse went to the bathroom on a med/surg floor unless someone was watching and following her/his every move?
Is that CNA's position? I believe the liturature I've seen regarding CNA's position is "at all times" means "at all times" not just meals. That is the problem most hospitals have with the regulation.
Is that CNA's position? I believe the liturature I've seen regarding CNA's position is "at all times" means "at all times" not just meals. That is the problem most hospitals have with the regulation.
I work at a CNA facility and I was just helping an RN on my floor who does this ... that is, covers other RNs on their meal breaks. That's her job, along with covering extra beds that fall outside of ratios (when, for example, new admits occur and 31 or 32 beds are occupied instead of 30 beds already covered by six RN's).
I never saw her cover anyone for just going to the bathroom.
I think the confusion occurs when Schwarzenegger tried to revise the ratio law, where a lot of the articles mention bathroom breaks. However, if you look at this advisory, which was issued by the Department of Health when the ratio law took effect, there's flexibility even with meal breaks:
You made a point I was missing. Just because the CNA with their unprofessional conduct makes the press, does not mean they are the ones who deserve the credit for where nursing is today. Non-union nurses far outnumber union nurses everywhere. My own hospital is an example, we voted AGAINST CNA representation. When the dust settled our raises beat the local hospitals who voted in the CNA.
The voice of professional non-union nursing organizations have been left out of this thread and for that I apologize.
You are also right about places you can opt out of union membership AND not pay dues. They are the "Right to Work States". California is not one of them. In California you can opt out of membership but you still must pay dues, so much for freedom of choice huh? I would love to see legislation on making it the law in California. How many nurses would opt out of CNA membership then?
I think you can find a list of Right to Work states at www.NRTW.org. This site and organization helps so many people who suffer when unions rule the roost or are attempting to overtake their workplace.
Sherwood
I would enccourage you to do an interesting quick check. Look at the nurses' salary in those supposedly wonderful states which have right to work laws. An example is Iowa; unionization of nurses in Iowa is very low, we also rate 52th in the nation in nurses' wages. I find it difficult to believe that anyone would be selfish enough to think that on their own they can make a difference and not think that the working conditions of nurses in California have much to do with the hard work of Union nurses.
Specializes in Cardiac Critical Care, Trauma, Neuro..
I would enccourage you to do an interesting quick check. Look at the nurses' salary in those supposedly wonderful states which have right to work laws. An example is Iowa; unionization of nurses in Iowa is very low, we also rate 52th in the nation in nurses' wages. I find it difficult to believe that anyone would be selfish enough to think that on their own they can make a difference and not think that the working conditions of nurses in California have much to do with the hard work of Union nurses.
Thank you for your input, I appreciate it.
When you consider the difference in salary across the country take into account the cost of living. Where I live in Southern "KALIFONIA" (thats how governor Arnold says it) a 4 bedroom 2 bath house on a 7000 sq ft lot costs about $750,000 Property taxes on that house will run you around $4500.00 a year. Gasoline is $2.50 a gallon. Insurance for you house and car are high too.
I am not saying that it is completely fair, nurses in Iowa work just as hard as I do. Every major profession will take cost of living into account and adjust salaries accordingly.
When you consider the difference in salary across the country take into account the cost of living. Where I live in Southern "KALIFONIA" (thats how governor Arnold says it) a 4 bedroom 2 bath house on a 7000 sq ft lot costs about $750,000 Property taxes on that house will run you around $4500.00 a year. Gasoline is $2.50 a gallon. Insurance for you house and car are high too.
I am not saying that it is completely fair, nurses in Iowa work just as hard as I do. Every major profession will take cost of living into account and adjust salaries accordingly.
I like to work clinically--that is, in the operating room-- in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the housing (and the wages of RNs) are among the highest in the nation. I LIVE in OR--God's country---but, sadly, the wages for RNs are abysmal in OR; a tradeoff I accept. I just refuse to work in any OR operating room.
I used to teach IV nursing all over Southern CA. Those nurses I taught were making $10 to $25--sometimes even $30-$35 an hour-- LESS than we were making in San Francisco and Oakland--even though the housing and other material things (gas, property taxes, sales taxes, etc.) were similar.)
Sherwood, I am betting that since you are not union, you have absolutely NO protection when you are told you must come in for a "mandatory" meeting on your day off, or do "mandatory" overtime when management has not assessed their staffing needs accurately (or HAS, but chose to bully staff into staying overtime instead of staffing adequately in the first place, or calling registry--same as many hospitals do in Oregon.) I am also aware that your operating room nursing colleagues--just ask them----only make, perhaps, $2.00 an hour or so for being "on call---" (again, same as many operating room and PACU nurses in Oregon make---) whereas, thanks to CNA, we in the SF Bay area make half-time, plus shift differential--always have, since I became a CNA nurse clear back in '81. No one would ever send us home early due to "low census--" if they did, they would be fined, and have to pay back pay, for instituting an "involuntary lay off." In OR, it's done all the time.
Also, CNA and those of us who went on strike more than once since the early '80s are largely responsible for CA being the ONLY state in the union with a safe staffing law--AB 394--MANDATING minimum RN (NOT just "nurse, " but RN) to patient ratios.
Specializes in Cardiac Critical Care, Trauma, Neuro..
I like to work clinically--that is, in the operating room-- in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the housing (and the wages of RNs) are among the highest in the nation. I LIVE in OR--God's country---but, sadly, the wages for RNs are abysmal in OR; a tradeoff I accept. I just refuse to work in any OR operating room.
I used to teach IV nursing all over Southern CA. Those nurses I taught were making $10 to $25--sometimes even $30-$35 an hour-- LESS than we were making in San Francisco and Oakland--even though the housing and other material things (gas, property taxes, sales taxes, etc.) were similar.)
Sherwood, I am betting that since you are not union, you have absolutely NO protection when you are told you must come in for a "mandatory" meeting on your day off, or do "mandatory" overtime when management has not assessed their staffing needs accurately (or HAS, but chose to bully staff into staying overtime instead of staffing adequately in the first place, or calling registry--same as many hospitals do in Oregon.) I am also aware that your operating room nursing colleagues--just ask them----only make, perhaps, $2.00 an hour or so for being "on call---" (again, same as many operating room and PACU nurses in Oregon make---) whereas, thanks to CNA, we in the SF Bay area make half-time, plus shift differential--always have, since I became a CNA nurse clear back in '81. No one would ever send us home early due to "low census--" if they did, they would be fined, and have to pay back pay, for instituting an "involuntary lay off." In OR, it's done all the time.
Also, CNA and those of us who went on strike more than once since the early '80s are largely responsible for CA being the ONLY state in the union with a safe staffing law--AB 394--MANDATING minimum RN (NOT just "nurse, " but RN) to patient ratios.
God bless CNA.
Sorry to burst your bubble.
No mandatory overtime....NEVER MANDATORY OVERTIME EVER. Never been bullied into it either. I do pick up the overtime though. When I want to and it is available. We get doubletime plus a bonus for staying over and time and a half plus a bonus for extra shifts. I have looked around and we are very competative.
We get about $6.50 for standby and time and a half plus shift diff if called.
We do have a mandatory classes but so does the local union hospitals. We get paid for attending and we get ceu's . If they have to pay overtime to take the class then they do.
We have had a few physicians try the bullying crap over the years. We do not tolerate it. We had one surgeon who was forced to take anger management classes in order to stay on staff. We saw him limping a little one morning and asked what happened. His reply was (and he showed us) that he had to walk around with a pebble in his shoe for some therapy he was getting in his anger management class.
Our staffing, while not the greatest is improving because a few of the travelers have liked us so much they cam on staff! They had many choices here in Southern California. They chose us.
The CNA keeps taking all the credit for the staffing ratio's but they are not the only ones who support safe staffing. We all support safe staffing. The CNA is not the voice for ALL nurses. Only a small minority.
begalli
1,277 Posts
Oh c'mon. We had this clarified at my hospital by the State. I know for sure that in critical care, it's okay for a nurse to go to the bathroom or step away from the bedside to get supplies. What this "at all times" pertains to is meal breaks.
How on earth would anyone know a nurse went to the bathroom on a med/surg floor unless someone was watching and following her/his every move?