California Sympathy Strike

lindarn · Sep 24, 2011

Well, I took my first hospital job ever in August and within a month joined the ANA. If we don't advocate for ourselves no one will.

Congratulaions for recognizing that nurses need to join together to advocate for ourselves. Unfortunatly, the ANA, is, as we say in Brooklyn, about as useful as Tits on a Bull. If you know what I mean.

The organization to join is the, "National Nurse United", an offshoot of the California Nurses Association. They are the only nurses organization that has done ANYTHING CREDIBLE for the nursing profession. They can and will do more if we all join together and work with them to improve the nursing profession.

The entire profession needs to put aside their petty differences, regardless of the feelings about unions, etc, and realize that you cannot effect change by yourself. Period. If you think that you can, you suffer from delusions of grandeur. NOW id the time to join together and speak as one voice. Our profession is under attack, and the slightest sign of weakness will be our undoing.

Sorry for hijacking the thread. And as usual, JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN ,BSN, CCRN

Somewhere in the PACNW

AndiSN · Sep 24, 2011

What I meant was all "All Power to Nurses" The phase comes from the Sixties when US Government wouldn't listen to us Veterans and the Non-Veterans about a war in South East Asia.

My comment wasn't in reply to yours. Sorry if it appeared that way. I saw another post regarding "anti-union" and people thinking that nurses made too much money. I was just saying that the attitude of many American's is very anti-union and it is frustrating.

My comment was really after reading the following two posts

" I tried to read about it, but the post disappeared quickly. I can say, tho, I was shocked and dismayed over all the nasty comments about nurses that I read. Apparently, there are a lot of people in the general population that think nurses are overpaid and have great benefits, and that we shouldn't complain! Blew me away. "

"I would not have been surprised at all, given the current "anti-union" attitudes in politics lately. Teachers, firefighters and now nurses are being criticizised by those who think "we" get too much. If you don't believe it, google Wisconsin/Ohio state union laws. "

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Sep 24, 2011

Congratulaions for recognizing that nurses need to join together to advocate for ourselves. Unfortunatly, the ANA, is, as we say in Brooklyn, about as useful as Tits on a Bull. If you know what I mean.
The organization to join is the, "National Nurse United", an offshoot of the California Nurses Association. They are the only nurses organization that has done ANYTHING CREDIBLE for the nursing profession. They can and will do more if we all join together and work with them to improve the nursing profession.
The entire profession needs to put aside their petty differences, regardless of the feelings about unions, etc, and realize that you cannot effect change by yourself. Period. If you think that you can, you suffer from delusions of grandeur. NOW id the time to join together and speak as one voice. Our profession is under attack, and the slightest sign of weakness will be our undoing.
Sorry for hijacking the thread. And as usual, JMHO and my NY $0.02.
Lindarn, RN ,BSN, CCRN
Somewhere in the PACNW

I'll look into them. I am not impressed with the ANA but that's all I thought there was.

Chico David, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2011

Congratulaions for recognizing that nurses need to join together to advocate for ourselves. Unfortunatly, the ANA, is, as we say in Brooklyn, about as useful as Tits on a Bull. If you know what I mean.
The organization to join is the, "National Nurse United", an offshoot of the California Nurses Association. They are the only nurses organization that has done ANYTHING CREDIBLE for the nursing profession. They can and will do more if we all join together and work with them to improve the nursing profession.
The entire profession needs to put aside their petty differences, regardless of the feelings about unions, etc, and realize that you cannot effect change by yourself. Period. If you think that you can, you suffer from delusions of grandeur. NOW id the time to join together and speak as one voice. Our profession is under attack, and the slightest sign of weakness will be our undoing.
Sorry for hijacking the thread. And as usual, JMHO and my NY $0.02.
Lindarn, RN ,BSN, CCRN
Somewhere in the PACNW

Totally agree with the sentiment, but to say that National Nurses United is " an offshoot" of CNA is not quite right.

Indeed a lot of the top leaders and the excutive director come from CNA, but NNU joins CNA/NNOC (already a multi-state organization) together with nurses from a bunch of other states: Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota are probably the biggest, but there are members from a bunch of other places as well and a lot of the other organizations in NNU come with their own proud history. All the constituent organizations came together sharing a philosophy of nurse empowerment through strength and the power of collective bargaining.

Chico David, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2011

I would not have been surprised at all, given the current "anti-union" attitudes in politics lately. Teachers, firefighters and now nurses are being criticizised by those who think "we" get too much. If you don't believe it, google Wisconsin/Ohio state union laws.

Pretty much anyone living in America today has been subjected to a 40 year campaign of anti-union propaganda from the super-rich and their servants. Here's a story that sums up the essence of the way it's been done:

A table has a plate with a dozen cookies on it. A corporate CEO, a union worker and a tea-party member sit down around the table. The CEO immediately grabs 11 of the cookies, then turns to the tea party member, looks him in the eye and says "Watch out for that union guy - he wants your cookie!"

After a lifetime of their propaganda, it's no wonder Americans have been fooled. In the last couple of years, 88% of all economic growth went into corporate profits. 1% went into increased wages and benefits.

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Sep 25, 2011

In some places, unions have given themselves bad names, by providing very lavish benefits and salaries (ex. many, many big-city municipal unions) or covering up abuses (ex. the Ohio nursing home union that told members not to cooperate with an abuse investigation)

Merlyn · Sep 26, 2011

My comment wasn't in reply to yours. Sorry if it appeared that way. I saw another post regarding "anti-union" and people thinking that nurses made too much money. I was just saying that the attitude of many American's is very anti-union and it is frustrating.
My comment was really after reading the following two posts
" I tried to read about it, but the post disappeared quickly. I can say, tho, I was shocked and dismayed over all the nasty comments about nurses that I read. Apparently, there are a lot of people in the general population that think nurses are overpaid and have great benefits, and that we shouldn't complain! Blew me away. "
"I would not have been surprised at all, given the current "anti-union" attitudes in politics lately. Teachers, firefighters and now nurses are being criticizised by those who think "we" get too much. If you don't believe it, google Wisconsin/Ohio state union laws. "

Sorry for the mix up. But I was mixed up the day I wrote it. :uhoh3:

nicurn001 · Sep 29, 2011

in some places, unions have given themselves bad names, by providing very lavish benefits and salaries (ex many big-city municipal unions)surely its the employer who gives these lavish benefits / pay , do you feel the same about corporate officers benefits and salaries ? or covering up abuses (ex. the ohio nursing home union that told members not to cooperate with an abuse investigation)the union is legally obliged to represent its members ,unfortunately if it is in the best interest of the employees not to cooperate that is the advise the union must give

when defending those they represent the union is obliged ( by law ) to do so for all its members whether they agree with their actions or not .

Chico David, BSN, RN · Sep 29, 2011

in some places, unions have given themselves bad names, by providing very lavish benefits and salaries (ex many big-city municipal unions)surely its the employer who gives these lavish benefits / pay , do you feel the same about corporate officers benefits and salaries ? or covering up abuses (ex. the ohio nursing home union that told members not to cooperate with an abuse investigation)the union is legally obliged to represent its members ,unfortunately if it is in the best interest of the employees not to cooperate that is the advise the union must give
when defending those they represent the union is obliged ( by law ) to do so for all its members whether they agree with their actions or not .

it is sadly true that one large union representing health care workers has made deals with management that include agreements to keep it's members from reporting patient abuse to state authorities in return for organizing rights. otherwise, your comments are spot on.

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Sep 29, 2011

surely its the employer who gives these lavish benefits / pay

with municipal employees, it's the town, city, or county paying the lavish salaries. constantly pushing for more and more money and benefits, leading to higher and higher property tax bills for a population that has seen wages stagnate or decline, doesn't make the union popular.

do you feel the same about corporate officers benefits and salaries ?

most corporate officers are grossly overpaid.

the union is legally obliged to represent its members ,unfortunately if it is in the best interest of the employees not to cooperate that is the advise the union must give. when defending those they represent the union is obliged ( by law ) to do so for all its members whether they agree with their actions or not.

would you feel the same if a union cna was caught on video abusing your mother?

Chico David, BSN, RN · Sep 30, 2011

With municipal employees, it's the town, city, or county paying the lavish salaries. Constantly pushing for more and more money and benefits, leading to higher and higher property tax bills for a population that has seen wages stagnate or decline, doesn't make the union popular.
Most corporate officers are grossly overpaid.
Would you feel the same if a union CNA was caught on video abusing your mother?

I'd be interested to hear some actual detail about those "lavish" salaries you repeatedly talk about.

Here's a study that covers it pretty well:

http://www.slge.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B22748FDE-C3B8-4E10-83D0-959386E5C1A4%7D&DE=%7BBD1EB9E6-79DA-42C7-A47E-5D4FA1280C0B%7D

Showing that when you look at comparable experience and education, state and local workers are consistently paid less, even when slightly better benefits are figured in, than comparable private sector workers.

That there are working people like nurses swallowing this stuff about public workers is a classic example of how successful the super rich have been in their divide and conquer strategy.

When I was a kid, the average large company CEO made about 30 times the wage of the average worker, my dad's moderate salary supported a family of 5 in reasonable comfort and most workers had pensions. Now, CEOs make over 300 times the salary of the average worker, it takes 2 incomes to just get by and the super rich have managed to convince many workers they should blame the few who still have what most workers used to have. Rather than workers fighting over a dwindling pie, we need to be changing taxation policies and coming together in unions again to make the pie bigger for all of us.

AndiSN · Sep 30, 2011

Sorry for the mix up. But I was mixed up the day I wrote it.

That's just fine Merlyn. I have been known to get mixed up once or twice myself :lol2: