Georgia/ Atlanta nursing union

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Specializes in Long term care.

Hi I was wondering does Georgia have nursing unions? I am originally from Illinois and all the nurses I know there are in a union. Someone told me that nurses are protected from liability issues when they are in a union. Is this true? What are the benefits and drawbacks of nursing unions?

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Specializes in RN-BC, ONC, CEN... I've been around.

Having worked in Augusta, GA for 4 years I'll tell you the state is not very union friendly... so much so that I would be VERY careful with who you mention it to. As far as being protected from liability, I'm not sure why you would think that. The union may provide some sort of legal representation in malpractice cases (or more likely negotiate it into a contract with the employer), but being a member would not make you legally less liable in any courtroom.

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Specializes in RN-BC, ONC, CEN... I've been around.

posted twice... oops

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Specializes in Long term care.
Having worked in Augusta, GA for 4 years I'll tell you the state is not very union friendly... so much so that I would be VERY careful with who you mention it to. As far as being protected from liability, I'm not sure why you would think that. The union may provide some sort of legal representation in malpractice cases (or more likely negotiate it into a contract with the employer), but being a member would not make you legally less liable in any courtroom.

Oh wow, I didn't know that unions were such a controversial thing. I am originally from Illinois and we have unions for everything. My sister in a CNA and is in a union in Illinois and she told me that its better to be in a union. Are you a RN?

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Specializes in OR.

You don't hear much about unions in Georgia, but if you want to know about them in general, there's an entire forum about them here at AllNurses: Collective Bargaining / Nursing Union, including a few pro/con threads. I go in there and browse every so often out of curiosity.

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Specializes in RN-BC, ONC, CEN... I've been around.
Oh wow, I didn't know that unions were such a controversial thing. I am originally from Illinois and we have unions for everything. My sister in a CNA and is in a union in Illinois and she told me that its better to be in a union. Are you a RN?

I'm an RN. I have worked in hospitals that were unionized and hospitals that were not. Georgia is an extremely conservative state overall and Unions are generally frowned upon. To be fair, the hospital that I worked at in Augusta seemed to treat it's employees fairly. Unions certainly aren't a necessity and I would try to get a feel for the hospital from the nurses who work there before worrying whether it was union or non-union.

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I am a RN who works in NYC and we have the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and I would say that it is great having a union. You get a pension in addition to your 401K. You can't be fired for no reason, your union representative has to be with you if you are ever written up. There are so many benefits to being unionized. Research it.

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