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.
I have a question for those in unions. Please forgive my ignorance. How transparent are the finances? Do you get an accounting of where your $$ are spent? I just ask because that was a sticking point a friend of mine had at a union organizing meeting. (Years ago, different industry, in Oklahoma) He asked where their money goes and never could get a straight answer. It should be simple, we get $3X dollars from dues and we spend $X for salaries, $X for supplies, and $X for lobbiests. $X+$X+$X=$3X
I have a question for those in unions. Please forgive my ignorance. How transparent are the finances? Do you get an accounting of where your $$ are spent? I just ask because that was a sticking point a friend of mine had at a union organizing meeting. (Years ago, different industry, in Oklahoma) He asked where their money goes and never could get a straight answer. It should be simple, we get $3X dollars from dues and we spend $X for salaries, $X for supplies, and $X for lobbiests. $X+$X+$X=$3X
So, do you know where your money goes? Thanks.
I honestly do not know where my union dues go. But I do know that we have very poor union representation. We have a guy who works for the Nurses association and I'm sure part of our dues pays his salary. This is what happened on our unit. Two months ago, management came to us and said. We are having a hard time staffing the unit this summer due to maternity leaves and vacations. If we don't fill these spots, some may not be able to take vacations. So, we are offering all these shifts at an incentive rate of time and a half. The nurses jumped on this and many incentive shifts were signed up for. Two weeks ago, management came to us and started canceling all the shifts saying we were way over budget and we could work them but at straight time. Of course, sh** hit the fan with the nurses and two of us (yes, 2 out of 95) filed a grievance. A meeting was planned and me and the other nurse were not invited to the meeting. The hospital admitted that they breached the contract and that all nurses would be able to work incentive shifts....but that those of us that had shifts cancelled were SOL. I refiled my grievance. I feel that they should either compensate us or give us replacement shifts at time and a half. No one here wants to fight it because they don't want to make waves. So, I can't do it alone and I'm not going to be a member of this worthless unit. My dues are better spent elsewhere.
I know that it is WRONG to sterotype people... but...here I go.
I was recently at a luncheon that was not a luncheon... just a group of us students getting out early and having a drink and some dinner.
Most of the students and the faculty in my institution Are democrat, liberal, and pro-union. there aren't many students that are anything else. As for me... I guess I am just a fencer.
I have been swayed by some points of view and some issues and totally dug in on other issues.
In the end I am not sure it really matters. I just want to see better patient care. I think that three patients in ICU is too many for one nurse. I think that six or nine patients on a med surg floor is too many. I think this b/c I have seen the effects on the nurses that have the excess load and the quality of care declined. I am not concerned about pay or benefits because I trust the institution to realize that I can get a job anywhere and that there are always others willing to do what they are not.
We should be concerned with all aspect of our working conditions. Pay and benefits are as important as patient care as far as I'm concerned. Yes, 6 patients during the day is too much for one nurse who shares her aide with 6 other nurses. If I had an aide to help me with my load, it would be ok. My hospital does not take acuity into consideration, only numbers.When a nurse starts out with 5 patients, gets 3 discharges and 3 more admissions, the hospital does not take into account that the nurse has had 8 patients that day. Somewhere along the way, care is compromised due to this. Also, I want to remind some nurses who live and work in the big metro areas, some of us rural nurses don't have the option of going down the street to work at the competition. It is a one hospital town and the nearest hospital is 140 miles away. I can't make the wages and benefits working any where elso. So some of us are forced to try to make conditions the best we can, where we are at. Our biggest mistake as nurse is trusting the intitution to do what is best for us. I trust no one and question everything. I refuse to walk around like a zombie and pretend everything will just fall into place for me and just "fix itself".
I honestly do not know where my union dues go. But I do know that we have very poor union representation. We have a guy who works for the Nurses association and I'm sure part of our dues pays his salary. This is what happened on our unit. Two months ago, management came to us and said. We are having a hard time staffing the unit this summer due to maternity leaves and vacations. If we don't fill these spots, some may not be able to take vacations. So, we are offering all these shifts at an incentive rate of time and a half. The nurses jumped on this and many incentive shifts were signed up for. Two weeks ago, management came to us and started canceling all the shifts saying we were way over budget and we could work them but at straight time. Of course, sh** hit the fan with the nurses and two of us (yes, 2 out of 95) filed a grievance. A meeting was planned and me and the other nurse were not invited to the meeting. The hospital admitted that they breached the contract and that all nurses would be able to work incentive shifts....but that those of us that had shifts cancelled were SOL. I refiled my grievance. I feel that they should either compensate us or give us replacement shifts at time and a half. No one here wants to fight it because they don't want to make waves. So, I can't do it alone and I'm not going to be a member of this worthless unit. My dues are better spent elsewhere.
Thank you for your honest answer. Who are those union representatives? Were they part of your local rank and file? I am reminded of the end of Animal Farm when the farm animals peeked in the window and couldn't tell the pigs from the people. It sounds like your union reps have gotten too cozy with the hospital management.
Thank you for your honest answer. Who are those union representatives? Were they part of your local rank and file? I am reminded of the end of Animal Farm when the farm animals peeked in the window and couldn't tell the pigs from the people. It sounds like your union reps have gotten too cozy with the hospital management.
Arizona had the opportunity recently, to organize with the NNOC, an affiliate of the California Nurses Association. A union with a proven track record of representing nurses, and obtaining better than average wages, benefits, and lets not forget, the staffing ratios that are the envy of the worlds' nursing population.
Why then, did the nurses reject the NNOC? I find myself lacking much sympathy for nurses who complain about having some of the worst pay for RNs in the country, some of the highest cost of living. and it seems like a significant problem with labor abuse. And they reject a group who would have assisted the nursing staff in obtaining a higher rate of pay, and better benefits. And contracts that are second to none. And workplace advocacy.
You are allowed to "fire" your union, and vote in a new one. In case no one ever told you that. If you are not happy with them, when you contract is expiring, petition the NLRB to vote out you union, and vote in NNOC.
I have worked in Illinois and California. My job in Illinois was "at will" and I was fired for writing up the wrong person for a serious error. In Illinois, I also worked for low wages, frequently missed breaks and sometimes worked in dangerous conditions. In CA, I get excellent pay and benefits, all my breaks and someone is pulling in the reigns regarding the number of patients a given nurse can care for. It isn't any Utopia, but it is the best I have seen so far. I have worked in New Zealand, we have a national union, but wages are poor and there is no laws regarding ratios. The work environment isn't too bad, but it isn't anything to write home about either.
I believe that the Australian state of Victoria is the first place in the world to institute ratios. Victorian nurses are well-known for their activism.
Thank you for your honest answer. Who are those union representatives? Were they part of your local rank and file? I am reminded of the end of Animal Farm when the farm animals peeked in the window and couldn't tell the pigs from the people. It sounds like your union reps have gotten too cozy with the hospital management.
These union reps are nurses who work on my unit. A unit representative. We had a great union rep. She didn't put up with any crap from management if problems came up. She was fired. Now, the reps are passive as they fear losing their jobs. They continually frost the moldy cake. There is no other hospital in this town. I am going to look into another union and approach the other nurses. Our contract is not up until 2008.
Arizona had the opportunity recently, to organize with the NNOC, an affiliate of the California Nurses Association. A union with a proven track record of representing nurses, and obtaining better than average wages, benefits, and lets not forget, the staffing ratios that are the envy of the worlds' nursing population.
Why then, did the nurses reject the NNOC? I find myself lacking much sympathy for nurses who complain about having some of the worst pay for RNs in the country, some of the highest cost of living. and it seems like a significant problem with labor abuse. And they reject a group who would have assisted the nursing staff in obtaining a higher rate of pay, and better benefits. And contracts that are second to none. And workplace advocacy.
You are allowed to "fire" your union, and vote in a new one. In case no one ever told you that. If you are not happy with them, when you contract is expiring, petition the NLRB to vote out you union, and vote in NNOC.
Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN
Spokane, Washington
This a great idea and thank you for the advice. The problem with our union is that many of the nurses are not sure why we have a contract. They are new grads/new nurses and many of them have come from hospitals where there was no union. They don't see the importance of it. They say, hey, it worked fine without a union where I came from. They were not here when things were so bad and then improved with unionization. Now conditions are spiraling downwards again(must be a cycle) and once again we must act. We are not allowed to talk contract at work so to reach all these nurses is almost impossible. I really need more support fromt his group than I'm getting.
azhiker96, BSN, RN
1,130 Posts
I have a question for those in unions. Please forgive my ignorance. How transparent are the finances? Do you get an accounting of where your $$ are spent? I just ask because that was a sticking point a friend of mine had at a union organizing meeting. (Years ago, different industry, in Oklahoma) He asked where their money goes and never could get a straight answer. It should be simple, we get $3X dollars from dues and we spend $X for salaries, $X for supplies, and $X for lobbiests. $X+$X+$X=$3X
So, do you know where your money goes? Thanks.