I am relatively new to this board but there seems to be a trend relative to Pro and Anti-Union posts and posters.
Union membership in nursing is on the rise. Still there are more nurses who choose not to orgainize than who do. Will the trend continue to rise to a point where unions hold the majority of nurses as members? Time will tell. If I used this board as a barometer, I would think we are headed down a divided, non-constructive path.
Threads on this board seem to get heated and then closed. Some members use the board to support, without exception, their hardline position about unions. Kinda looks like some have drunk the kool-aide to a point of no return. The first ammendment is a wonderful think but it says nothing about objectivity
As long as we hold the line in one camp- union vs. management, as a profession we remain captive and dependent. It's just not reasonable or rational to think that one or the other is always working for our best interests. We all know horror stories and we can all recite great gains won by unions and facilitated by an employer.
Don't drink the kool-aide. The purple mustache is a dead give-away.
You state that union membership in nursing is on the rise. Could you give a source for that information? I don't have a breakdown for nurses but the general trend is away from union membership: 20.1% of American workers were union members in 1983, while only 12.5% were members in 2005, a number which basically didn't change from 2004. In fact, the number of union members has basically remained flat: there are roughly the same number of union members now as in 1952, while the number of workers has doubled from 50 million to 121 million.
I may have misspoken. But if you look at the BLS report for 2004-2005, in the category for healthcare professionals, in which nurses are included, the rate of union representation rose from 12.4 to 12.6%. This may include a disproportionate share of non-nurse healthcare professionals. Not a huge jump unless you put the number in context to the info that you mentioned.
I think the big increases in representation are in the western states. Where I live, there isn't a chance at a union organizing nurses and even if they did, state law prohibits closed shops.
I find the difference in people's feelings about unions really fascinating - here in the UK we have a lot of employment law to support us and legislation is often UK wide (although England often has its own, with Wales and Scotland having their own slightly different). The opinion of unions seems different in the USA and people seem far more polarised in the USA than they are in the UK.
What I don't understand is why they are so different - this may be a naive question because I have never been to the states.
I am a union rep in the UK and I guess things are slightly different because the union I belong to, the Royal College of Nursing is also the professional body for nursing in the UK as well as being a union.
Do you have any countrywide legislation, or does a lot of the legislation that affects nurses and nursing only have a state wide remit?
To answer your question regarding our professional body. We have state nurses associations. In a large number of states, they are the 'union' of representation of some nurses. Here, our unions are granted their right to represent people based on the original voting in of a union. 1199, another one, can come in and get voted down as a representative. The state association can come in, to the individual facility, and get voted in. A union is as strong or weak as its members and the state in which you live. If you live in 'a right to work state' unions are generally not as strong. The contracts they negoiate are not strong on workers rights. I've lived and worked in both types of states, where a union is strong is the one I prefer to work in.
This debate will never be settled. If you can get what you want or think you want from a union, then join the union. I for one do not want to pay someone to speak for me, because then I lose that right. Furthermore, I do not believe that it is right to mandate that every employee of a unionized facility/organization must pay dues or join that union; I should have the right NOT to participate/contribute if I so chose.
Hi every one, I just thought that I'd put in my 2 cents worth on this thread. I am a Canadian nursing student (will be a GN come April), and as such I only know the nursing profession as being unionized. Its my opinion from what I have seen over the years that the nurses that are in the union and those that are elected to represent them depend on how strong or weak the union ultimately is. Here I have seen unions fight hard for nurses rights (wages, pt nurse ratios, benefits etc.) but I have also seen these unions pushed over very hard by governments that are very anti-union. Maybe I am a bit naive but I have never heard of a union (nursing) that does not allow its members to not think for themselves, or make decisions for nurses with out their impute.
I am about to enter the profession and I'm not sure if my opinions will change about unions or not. The thing that I find more frustrating is that fact that nurses want to be seen as a profession that can stand on its own. However nurses continue to divide themselves instead of becoming a whole and work together to improve the profession. now please i didn't say that to get flamed so if anyone was insulted i am sorry just my opinion.
I was a canadian nurse but I was forced to come to the US for a job because of the union. I graduated in 1980 as a RN but married military because of that I had to move very often. As a result I had to start a new job every few years which although I had alot of seniority as an experienced RN I had less seniority in the hospital then a new grad. Every time the Gov't needed money they closed units or even hospitals as a result with the seniority and the union if a unit was closed the senior nurses could bump less senior nurses out of their job who would then take someone elses job until finally the last in is the first out. That meant me all the time. I would just get another job (for me to continue to get unemployment I had to apply to every position then go to a 1.5 hr question and answer interview where everyone was asked the same questions only to have the job given to the nurse with the most seniority) only to be bumped by a nurse who just happened to have wanted it but did not want to do the interview and was employed by the hospital currently. I could not go to another hospital as they were all in the same boat and they had to rehire their layed off nurses first. After losing my job five times in 1 year I gave up. I moved to the US and this has not happened mainly because there are fewer unions.
In my opinion and my experience, unions are great for senior nurses who would have been fired in an at will hiring hospital. (after 90 days it takes an army to get rid of a bad nurse).
Hi every one, I just thought that I'd put in my 2 cents worth on this thread. I am a Canadian nursing student (will be a GN come April), and as such I only know the nursing profession as being unionized. Its my opinion from what I have seen over the years that the nurses that are in the union and those that are elected to represent them depend on how strong or weak the union ultimately is. Here I have seen unions fight hard for nurses rights (wages, pt nurse ratios, benefits etc.) but I have also seen these unions pushed over very hard by governments that are very anti-union. Maybe I am a bit naive but I have never heard of a union (nursing) that does not allow its members to not think for themselves, or make decisions for nurses with out their impute.
I am about to enter the profession and I'm not sure if my opinions will change about unions or not. The thing that I find more frustrating is that fact that nurses want to be seen as a profession that can stand on its own. However nurses continue to divide themselves instead of becoming a whole and work together to improve the profession. now please i didn't say that to get flamed so if anyone was insulted i am sorry just my opinion.
I have always said that a union contract does not allow RNs to be recognized for excellence, only for showing up consistantly. Seniority doesn't take a lot of skill! Why should rewards (ie; promotions and raises) be based solely on this in a professional environment?
At my hospital a new grad was named "Nurse of the Year"
She IS a fine nurse (I was her preceptor).
All year every patient is sent a questionaire after discharge. It includes a nomination form. A couple months before the awards dinner all staff and doctors are given a nomination form.
When a patient or family member praises her she asks them to write in her name when they send their nomination back.
She IS terrific but as a new nurse she often asks for assistance or advise from one of us who has experienced what is new to her.
At my hospital a new grad was named "Nurse of the Year"
She IS a fine nurse (I was her preceptor).
All year every patient is sent a questionaire after discharge. It includes a nomination form. A couple months before the awards dinner all staff and doctors are given a nomination form.
When a patient or family member praises her she asks them to write in her name when they send their nomination back.
She IS terrific but as a new nurse she often asks for assistance or advise from one of us who has experienced what is new to her.
And did she get a promotion and a monetary reward?????????
I became a nurse at 40. I joined this website shortly thereafter. I had no experience at all in the medical field.
I had to talk with a mentor friend of mine who has been a nurse for 25 years or so after being on here for awhile. I said that I was surprised because my impression after being on here for awhile is that nurses are for the most part liberal, Democrats, pro-union.
She said that in her experience, this wasn't true. So, I dunno . . . maybe this site is just more interesting to liberal nurses.
I'm definitely not ever going to join a union.
steph
Please let's not make a sterotype of a nurse-that is a slap in the face to every republican anit union nurse in america. I know that at Board level politics are very important to nurses but let's not let it trickle down into
defining who we are. Let us define ourselves as we think we should be
defined not by some bureacratic board or union leader.
And did she get a promotion and a monetary reward?????????
Yes she did.
Most new grads remain RN I for a year. She was promoted to RN II well before that.
I will not be surprised if she applies for and earns her RN III with a much higher pay level some time next year. Of course there is much more responsibility that goes along with that.
Many fine nurses prefer to remain RN II providing excellent direct patient care. They don't have to be preceptors to new nurses and students, or do the schedule, or attend meetings and report back to the rest of the staff, or lead staff meetings, teach inservices, and such.
Where people vote and the majority prevails. It's called democracy. Pretty much the way unions work.
What's so horrible about that. If the majority doesn't like the union, they're out. If the majority likes it, they're in.
If you don't agree with the majority ... you're always free to go work somewhere else ...
I still don't understand what your problem is. The system is pretty reasonable and is essentially based upon the "republic" form of government which runs our country.
mobilsurgrn
43 Posts
I may have misspoken. But if you look at the BLS report for 2004-2005, in the category for healthcare professionals, in which nurses are included, the rate of union representation rose from 12.4 to 12.6%. This may include a disproportionate share of non-nurse healthcare professionals. Not a huge jump unless you put the number in context to the info that you mentioned.
I think the big increases in representation are in the western states. Where I live, there isn't a chance at a union organizing nurses and even if they did, state law prohibits closed shops.