With all the changes in healthcare, management keeps telling us they need to cut back. They have cut back on staffing, supplies, support staff, benefits, raises, etc. Nurses are not getting breaks. New documentation is overwhelming, but our workload has increased. If we say anything, we are told, "we are lucky to have a job."
Has anyone else been through this? There are rumors about a union coming in. If they do, does it help?
I worked in a union hospital for many years before retiring and now work in school nursing where the teachers and school nurses are unionized. The "guilt" card is played by administration...either in the hospital or the schools. "Its about the patients, its about the kids, its about being a team player". Sorry, it doesn't work on me. Me taking care of three ICU patients with one that need to be by themselves is in no way "about the patients". Packing 35 kids into a teachers class isn't "good for the kids" and I refuse to be a team player if the team is going in the wrong direction.
Unions are under attack by millionaires and billionaires who could make much more money if it wasn't for these middle class teachers and school nurses who are standing in their way. They are able to use social wedge issues to convince some of these people to think that unions a bad, but if you listen closely, its all rhetoric and no substance.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
I worked in a union hospital for many years before retiring and now work in school nursing where the teachers and school nurses are unionized. The "guilt" card is played by administration...either in the hospital or the schools. "Its about the patients, its about the kids, its about being a team player". Sorry, it doesn't work on me. Me taking care of three ICU patients with one that need to be by themselves is in no way "about the patients". Packing 35 kids into a teachers class isn't "good for the kids" and I refuse to be a team player if the team is going in the wrong direction.
Unions are under attack by millionaires and billionaires who could make much more money if it wasn't for these middle class teachers and school nurses who are standing in their way. They are able to use social wedge issues to convince some of these people to think that unions a bad, but if you listen closely, its all rhetoric and no substance.
No breaks? You do not need to pay a union to fix that. I know a nurse who did not get breaks for the past two years that her hospital was audited by her state's Dept. of Labor; she (and others) just got a hefty check for reimbursement for those "missing" meal breaks. Most states have laws covering this, and the means to remedy same.
No breaks? You do not need to pay a union to fix that. I know a nurse who did not get breaks for the past two years that her hospital was audited by her state's Dept. of Labor; she (and others) just got a hefty check for reimbursement for those "missing" meal breaks. Most states have laws covering this, and the means to remedy same.
That's breaking the law. A union would not wait for the audit, they would never have allowed such a thing to happen. Unions allow for a voice in the work place. Its not illegal to force one to work understaffed for crappy pay and benefits (just ask those who work in right to work for less states), which unions certainly do help with.
I wish more people here in the deep south would be open to unions. They are few and far between around here, and most nurses know nothing about them (in my area.) For some reason, "union" seems to be a dirty word in most southern cities.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
I wish more people here in the deep south would be open to unions. They are few and far between around here, and most nurses know nothing about them (in my area.) For some reason, "union" seems to be a dirty word in most southern cities.
They have fallen victim to the propaganda of the corporate mouth pieces.
People are as ignorant as they prefer to be, in general, when it comes to this sort of topic.
So it turns out, my hospital is actually being courted by a nurse's union as we speak. This latest benefit cut was the last straw for most of the nurses I work with. We are in the earliest of the early stages, but the support is looking very strong. I never thought I would be on this bandwagon, but now I see the writing is on the wall! I think it is our only hope!
It feels like there may be a ray of light at the end of the tunnel...I hear things might get pretty ugly during the process! Our administration is being outright mean to us. Can it get any worse?
Thanks all, for the reinforcement. Any first hand experience or advice from this point on?
Windynurse
Keep your cool when dealing with mgt, don't let them get you angry. Express your complaints and frustrations - write them down in front of you if need be. This will help whether you are dealing with mgt or just other staff.
I always tell people that everyone deserves respect and FairPlay. When mgt complains that they can't get rid of bad staff I always point out that there is a system and they just need to use it. I also ask what is the process for firing mgt when they are the 'bad actors' - and how often has it been used.
Unions are under attack by millionaires and billionaires who could make much more money if it wasn't for these middle class teachers and school nurses who are standing in their way. They are able to use social wedge issues to convince some of these people to think that unions a bad, but if you listen closely, its all rhetoric and no substance.
Think Scott Walker and Wisconsin... strip union rights from everybody except the "heroes"... cops and firefighters.
Think, SCOTUS deciding that corporations are people and that money is speech... meaning unlimited contributions to PACs and candidates.
Look at the enormous amount of money that flows into local elections from out-of-state.
When a wealthy person or corporation donates money, it's for the same reason that everybody else does: They expect a return on their 'investment'... that is, of course, exactly how fortunes are built.
Given the present political landscape that has resulted from decades of systematic effort to destroy the power of collective bargaining units, I'm pretty pessimistic about the future.
So it turns out, my hospital is actually being courted by a nurse's union as we speak. This latest benefit cut was the last straw for most of the nurses I work with. We are in the earliest of the early stages, but the support is looking very strong. I never thought I would be on this bandwagon, but now I see the writing is on the wall! I think it is our only hope!
It feels like there may be a ray of light at the end of the tunnel...I hear things might get pretty ugly during the process! Our administration is being outright mean to us. Can it get any worse?
Thanks all, for the reinforcement. Any first hand experience or advice from this point on?
Windynurse
I just read the post by 'chopwood carrywater' and it's very well put.
For a little inspiration and some actual advice, take a listen to Pete Seeger's "Talking Union"
HazelLPN, LPN
492 Posts
I worked in a union hospital for many years before retiring and now work in school nursing where the teachers and school nurses are unionized. The "guilt" card is played by administration...either in the hospital or the schools. "Its about the patients, its about the kids, its about being a team player". Sorry, it doesn't work on me. Me taking care of three ICU patients with one that need to be by themselves is in no way "about the patients". Packing 35 kids into a teachers class isn't "good for the kids" and I refuse to be a team player if the team is going in the wrong direction.
Unions are under attack by millionaires and billionaires who could make much more money if it wasn't for these middle class teachers and school nurses who are standing in their way. They are able to use social wedge issues to convince some of these people to think that unions a bad, but if you listen closely, its all rhetoric and no substance.