Flag Staff Medical Hospital RNs to vote....

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · May 27, 2006

Very interesting...I wonder how this will turn out?

ZASHAGALKA, RN · May 28, 2006

Last time they tried to unionize, in 2003, the vote failed by 2 - 1:

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2930&purchase_type=ITM&item_id=0286-6917491&word=Nurses_Flagstaff_Ariz

Nurses at Flagstaff, Ariz., Medical Center Reject Chance for Union.

May 25--An effort to organize the nurses at Flagstaff Medical Center failed Friday by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

The final vote was 207 to 117 against union representation.

There are 550 nurses at FMC. Only 125 attended the union rally. But, I know, some would not think it smart to advertise their support before a vote; which is why those votes are SECRET. Still, I don't see how the current level of support, combined with the outcome of the LAST vote, bodes well for the current NLRB vote. . .

~faith,

Timothy.

Ion · May 29, 2006

I have mixed feelings, but my simple curiosity would love to see it pass.

BollingRN · Jun 8, 2006

well, i work at flagstaff medical center and i don't want to see it pass. all you hear in the media is "to improve patient care" :angryfire but when the reporters are gone and its just us nurses, its all about "how much more money were gonna get." here are some facts about fmc, specifically the icu and cvicu...there is no call. all ratio's are 1:2 or less depending on the patients acuity. a nurse at fmc can earn up to a 9% pay increae yearly, and as far as incentive pay is, a nurse can make (time and a half + $20.00) thats right!! if your base pay is 30 bucks an hour, incentive pay is $60.00/hr...and they want more!!!!!!! ther are some problems at fmc, i don't argue this, but we also have a brand new ceo who satrted 6-8 weeks ago...his wife has been a nurse for 24 years, so maybe he'll listen more than our previous.

all in all, im encouraging my co-workers to vote no:monkeydance:

sorry if i came accross too strong!!!

i do know there will be a rally, monday june 12 at flagstaff medical center by nurses against the formation of a union at fmc....all are welcome

azhiker96, BSN, RN · Jun 8, 2006

Thanks for the inside look! I'll be rooting for you from my clinicals here in the valley! (PHX)

Ion · Jun 13, 2006

We may "need" a state union soon. The administrations and politicians are spreading the myth of a nursing shortage. The "myth" is used to justify short staffing and import large quantities of foreign nurses. By importing a large amount of foreign nurses we will lower nurse wages and import enough RN's to relieve this state of LPN's.

There is nothing wrong with doing a good job and being paid well.

On a worse thought, I would not doubt that if the bird flu is real, it will bail out medicare, social security and "the nursing shortage" in short time.

english_nurse · Jun 13, 2006

We may "need" a state union soon. The administrations and politicians are spreading the myth of a nursing shortage. The "myth" is used to justify short staffing and import large quantities of foreign nurses. By importing a large amount of foreign nurses we will lower nurse wages and import enough RN's to relieve this state of LPN's.
There is nothing wrong with doing a good job and being paid well.
On a worse thought, I would not doubt that if the bird flu is real, it will bail out medicare, social security and "the nursing shortage" in short time.

out of curiousity how does 'importing' foreign nurses lower the wages of an american rn? is this the opinion of alot of american nurses as im coming to the usa myself in the near future and would hate to be a reciever of animosity because of my country of origin

isnt it also true that there is a nursing shortage in the us, the same as the rest of the world, due to an aging population? or is that made up by the media?

Ion · Jun 13, 2006

We have a nurse retention problem, not a true nursing shortage. We have enough people becoming nurses, but have too many people abandoning nursing. The primary focus should be on retaining nurses and not recruiting the next wave of floor fodder.

For some time I worked with some great nurses who were Filipino. Unfortunately for them, they were under contract at fifteen dollars an hour for a thirty-five dollars per an hour position.

I am not encouraging freak acts of xenophobia, but obviously if enough folks are being brought here that work for half as much as we do, our earnings are in jeopardy. Then there is the ethical dilemma that if we hire a country's nurses, what will happen to their people?

english_nurse · Jun 13, 2006

fair point, it is easy to be exploited if you are not careful

i wasnt implying that you were being racist by the way

we had a retention problem here now we have a vacancy problem, trusts are not employing nurses due to financial problems

i think one of the issues that should be addressed is the way foreign nurses are treated by facilities

and the other, the way nurses are treated in general.

Ion · Jun 13, 2006

If we are going to bring foreign nurses here as equals, then they should be treated (and paid) as equals. My perception is that instead of working to improve our existing problems (pay and staffing) we are just creating floor fodder- an every growing wave of new nurses we throw at nursing hoping some of them stick.

I tried this with mom's spaghetti when I was a kid. I would throw noodles and have them stick on the ceiling. What I found out was that the more noodles I threw at the ceiling, the less that stuck. If I took my time and carefully threw the noodles one by one, I could get the noodles to stick.

Ironically, I have found pay to be one of the "touchiest" areas of nursing, and have found that frequently nurses are offended at the idea of leaving a job for a better paying job.

I didn't think you were implying I was racist. I think it is great to communicate with nurses globally. Do me a favor and tell that lady to hurry up with the next Hairy Potter book!

azhiker96, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2006

out of curiousity how does 'importing' foreign nurses lower the wages of an american rn? is this the opinion of alot of american nurses as im coming to the usa myself in the near future and would hate to be a reciever of animosity because of my country of origin
isnt it also true that there is a nursing shortage in the us, the same as the rest of the world, due to an aging population? or is that made up by the media?

The foreign nurses at my hospital are paid the same wages as US born nurses. Pay is based more on skills and job description rather than country of origin.

Yes, there is a true shortage of nurses in the US and mainly for the problems you mention. I've heard annecdotal evidence that many nurses are leaving the profession but haven't seen any figures on that. Also, many of our nurses are older and retiring after 30, 40, 50 years of service. I think they've earned a rest so God bless them.

A check of any major newspaper, nursing journal, or hospital website will show dozens if not hundreds of ads calling for nurses. Good luck!