Just when I thought our management couldn't get any more pathetic. Well, they have pushed the envelope even further.
At the begining of December the dietary manager decided (without notice) that the meal times during the day were going to change. Staff were not going to be served a full hot meal until after 12:30 pm, after the residents have all eaten their lunch. However, there are two categories of workers that usually have their lunch earlier which is 10:45 am and 11:15 am. They are the Practical Nurses and the Care Aides. For these workers they will only be entitled to have hot soup and a sandwich.
Well this didn't sit too well with these workers. So they decided on their own to change their lunch times in order for them to have the same full hot meal options that the rest of the workers were having in the building. Well the Director of Nursing got wind of this and she was not impressed. She ordered the Practical Nurses and the Care Aides to go back to their previous meal times and any change in staff meal times must go through proper channels and put to a vote with the union.
I have since filed a descrimination grievance and nothing will be looked into until after the first week of January. However, with this particular union's lousy track record of not wanting to hold the employer accountable on anything, I'm not holding my breath. So for over a month the Practical Nurses and the Care Aides will be served the equivalant of a soup kitchen at lunch time, even though their shift starts the same time as other departments (including the R.N.'s) in the building and will be treated as second class health care workers. This has created enourmous amounts of unnecesary tenstion through out the building.
In my facility the LPNs and CNAs are union workers and the RNs are not. The difference in treatment has convinced me that if at all possible a union position is the way to go. My facility recruits Philippine nurses via an agency, gives them a free apartment (which they share with up to 5 other RNs), and pays them $14/hr. This is in NYC where the going wage for an RN is at least $32/hr in the cheapest of nursing homes. The RNs are basically slaves who are just happy to be in the U.S and they are always afraid of being fired and sent back to the Philippines.
I guess my point is that all of these posters who keep coming into this thread talking about being grateful for scraps should be mindful of what they stand for. Our employers are more than happy to fulfill the low expectations we have for our working conditions.
Basically the less you ask for and expect the less you get and after a while the abuse becomes the norm.
If a patient was dying or in a major crisis then duh of course I'm not going to take a lunch break. However, if it's just the normal course of business then I'm taking my break....the full hour and I'm not going to feel the least bit guilty about it. I'm a human being and I deserve to eat and urinate on a consistent basis; even a dog has that right.
Btw, my job doesn't allow us to bring in outside food and deducts a few dollars per week from our paychecks for a hot meal. So since I'm paying for the food and I can't bring my own damn straight I'm eating!
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
:typing
Stepping into this thread:
Many in healthcare are being asked to make 10-20 % budget cutbacks... or more...in their departments. Could it just be that this Dietary Manager didn't think though how the cutbacks in serving hot food would affect staff or would appear to be dividing staff into those who get hot food and those who don't across ??? Or that perception is CNA's /housekeeping/allied staff left out vs nurses getting hot food??
Did anyone think to say to your manager " Gee, my perception of this change is....this is how it would affect us..... could you pass onto Dietary manager our concerns?" Sometimes a simple talk with another dept mgr: Yo........want to let you know my staffs perception of XYZ policy... did you think of this impact....can decision be reviewed?????" is all it takes to get process/procedure/policy reviewed and changed............. OR get further clarrification why change aint happening.
Nips most rants/raves/ shift/department warfare on second review, especialy if :smackingf one hasn't thought through effects change form all angles.........
I understand why y'all think that the complaint is invalid however, I disagree. If all the employees get a certain perk, why should the Practical Nurses and CNA's be different. There may be legal ramifications as well- worsening of conditions or something.
Maybe they have their salaries deducted for this service (hot meal).
Some of the LTC's that I know serve meals to their employees- its not unheard of.
I am surprised that the "lunches" are at 10:45- seems a bit early to me. We start our shift at 7, take a breakfast break at 9:30 or 10:00 and lunch break at 1:00 or 1:30. Shift ends at 3. This applies to all employees- no matter what category- even our CEO.
I would protest gently- explain that this is going to lower morale, and breaks previous status quo. It's not worth getting fired over- but I wouldn't swallow it.
You can leave and get food but you aren't going to get your $2/week back it's part of the union contract.
Had to look up Monopolies and Mergers Commission. It seems to be a U.K agency with the equivalent being the FTC in the U.S. Not sure what the FTC would be able to do for us?
Have you contacted the monopolies and mergers commission?
What happens if you say you aren't going to pay? Are you allowed to leave to go get food?
My union is worse than useless! Negotiated contracts(on which we always lose something), are not honored and nothing is done about it! I am sorry, I need my union dues in my pocket, more than this half a$$ed group does. It doesn't matter who says what, they are terrible! Positions are being eliminated, staffing is horrible, and I am not paid what I could've been paid at other hospitals. I work, where I work because I liked the people-otherwise it would never have happened!
Unions had their place, but as we see with the car industry...police...and others we lose when others make money for sometimes not working, getting paid forever for others, and the ability to work o/t for a few years and retiring with huge amounts. This also goes for unused time off-obviously if it couldn't be used...itoo much was given!
NJ in particular suffers from one of the highest property taxes due to government workers unions draining us dry, this includes fire, police, and especially the schools. While I agree some teachers should be paid well, there is no measure on their productivity and I resent paying them six figures and a great retirement.
So sorry for the union rant....I still say they are lucky to be able to eat at a scheduled time and always know they will get it. For the rest of us, we can't just walk off the floor. Somehow I don't even think the union nurses with "great" environments would appreciate the whistle blowing while they were having an MI! "Oh too bad, got to get my cup of Joe....do you think you can hang for 15?"
I'm sorry to disagree with you, Maisy, but this is the classic "I don't get it so nobody else should get it either" mentality that employers take advantage of.
My grandpa (steelworker, union organizer, union officer, and great observer of people) had a great saying: "People generally think, 'Everyone makes too much money but me.'" Employees at the OP's workplace are not "lucky" to have a scheduled meal time -- it's those of us without that guarantee who are allowing ourselves to continue to be "unlucky" to agree to work 8, 10, 12 or more hours without a civilized, physiologically-necessary, and health-promoting meal break.
I'm a homeowner and property taxpayer. I do not begrudge teachers their salaries or benefits - they are shaping the next generation of our society. Have you spent time in a classroom lately? I have. I work in an urban ER and don't think twice about interacting with jail inmates, gang bangers, or mean drunks ... but I know I wouldn't last 30 minutes in many classrooms.
That police officer or firefighter who you resent collecting overtime today -- may tomorrow put down the armed burglar who has entered your home, or extinguish the fire in your attic without hesitating at the risk that he/she may fall through the floor. Courage & commitment to the public good cannot be taught in any program of higher education.
You are preaching to the wrong person....my grandfather was a cop, my father was a dyed in the wool union supporter and so was I.....that day ended when they told my mother my father's death was considered early retirement...so the 1800.00 per month she would've received became $246.00-dad died 6 months prior to retirement.
My union is useless, the unions I negotiated with when I was in management sent idiots into meetings, and truthfully after meeting my union reps last week I am sure they are among the biggest a$$es of all time! Now I know why our contracts aren't honored, administration knows nothing will happen.
Again, I will state the obvious....my shops when I was in technology were not unionized and my people had the best! The union shops negotiated for crap! My hospital is amongst the lowest wages in the state, others are paying much more-based on knowledge, increasing knowledge, experience and quantifiable qualities.
It all boils down to.... fairness. If it were a non union hospital, no one would be making a big deal about it. Everyone gets a chance to buy SOMETHING from the cafeteria.
Everyone also has a chance to bring their own food in right? They also have a chance to have something delivered right?
So, to solve the whole BIG PROBLEM,, just shut it down for all the staff. Let everyone bring their own food in, or order out. Obviously the kitchen cannot feed everyone and accomidate the different schedules of the break times. It is not the kitchen's fault.
You mean the union contract requires that employees participate in the food program where you work and pay for it?
Yes, at $2/week it's almost Dickensian isn't it?
I know some people are anti-union but I think it depends on the union. I like mine and I hope to secure another position with that same union once I get my RN. I have great (cheap) health insurance, 18 sick days per year, and of course my $2/week meals. I will stick with my union and keep taking my 1 hour lunch breaks and leaving on time if the alternative is keeping my $2/week paying for my own lunch if my employer is merciful enough to allow me to have it upon occasion.
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:banghead:
Lovely_RN, MSN
1,122 Posts
In my facility the LPNs and CNAs are union workers and the RNs are not. The difference in treatment has convinced me that if at all possible a union position is the way to go. My facility recruits Philippine nurses via an agency, gives them a free apartment (which they share with up to 5 other RNs), and pays them $14/hr. This is in NYC where the going wage for an RN is at least $32/hr in the cheapest of nursing homes. The RNs are basically slaves who are just happy to be in the U.S and they are always afraid of being fired and sent back to the Philippines.
I guess my point is that all of these posters who keep coming into this thread talking about being grateful for scraps should be mindful of what they stand for. Our employers are more than happy to fulfill the low expectations we have for our working conditions.
Basically the less you ask for and expect the less you get and after a while the abuse becomes the norm.
If a patient was dying or in a major crisis then duh of course I'm not going to take a lunch break. However, if it's just the normal course of business then I'm taking my break....the full hour and I'm not going to feel the least bit guilty about it. I'm a human being and I deserve to eat and urinate on a consistent basis; even a dog has that right.
Btw, my job doesn't allow us to bring in outside food and deducts a few dollars per week from our paychecks for a hot meal. So since I'm paying for the food and I can't bring my own damn straight I'm eating!