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 am still on the fence with the union. It has been my experience
Unions mainly work for the nurse with the highest seniority. Nurses with less seniority still have to pay the same dues but only get half the perks. Choice vacation,more vacation time, choice schedules... Incompetant senior nurses rarely get fired, they just get an easier workload or their mistakes get covered up by all. Layoffs when they happen bring about the loss of the allround better RN's in favor of senior nurse.
So basically any nurse who has less then 2 years seniority works every friday and every other weekend. Works all but one important holiday and do not work the unimportant ones (the senior RN's want the time and a half then) They get no decent vacation time if they get any at all.
Given the option I would not be a part of a union until I was there 10 yrs. Nurses who have less then 10 years should not have to pay the same dues. Union should be a unified group not single out the senior nurses and not function on seniority.
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 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.
Our local gives a treasurers report every month at the meeting. FWIW union finances IMO are under much greater scrutiny than "Enron" for example. There are no perfect organizations or people. If you want transparency in your union than I think the most important step is to be an active involved member.
Unless you live in a "Right to work state". If you do not agree with your unions policies or politics but do not or cannot leave for another job then you can resign membership but must still pay union dues. If enough nurses resign membership it can effectively gut the unions power. If enough of you band together and can get your points accross effectively you can deauthorize the union which will allow the union to remain but make membership and dues payments a choice rather than a mandate. Decertification removes the union completly.
Sherwood
Bad idea. Devertifying or deauthorizing. A much better strategy is to be actively involved in the local. If you are still not happy then contact SEIU for help. Work Groups do occasionally hold another representation election to choose a new exclusive representative. The most important thing is not to lose the baby with the bathwater.
I live in a coal mining state where the United Mine Workers is very strong. Yes miners make good money but look at all the safety issues and
mining disasters that are occurring just recently. How much money is worth the safety of even one miner and why over the years hasn't the union been able to negotiate for better safety regulations for miners? I don't think unions , based on the past performance of many unions, are in the best interest of nursing or miners. They may be able to get us better pay in order to pay union dues but they would be ineffective in handling other crisis in nursing such as staffing issues.
Put the responsibility where it belongs for safety problems. The Bush Administration has essentially gutted the Mine Safety Agency.
Our national government that is supposed to be of the people for the people and by the people has been captured by Of the COrporation, for the Corporation and By the Corporation. Corporations FIGHT every safety mandate and regulation. See prospect.org and alternet.org for discussions about mine safety and the Bush Administrations role in reducing safety requirements for the mines.
And that's a legitimate criticism of unions. Some unions aren't as effective as others and, if they're not effective then, obviously, there's no point in having them.
:typing
The way to make things better is by working together AND being actively involved in your local.
I've had union jobs and non union jobs and a bad union is a million times better than no union.
The second is certainly true from management's perspective. Suddenly they're presented with a bureaucracy dedicated to protecting the rights of their workers and correcting workplace abuses. Oh, the horror!
We won't be taken seriously as a profession until we do organize in some form. We'll continue to be the first place management looks to when they're in a cost cutting mood and the last place they look when they're finding ways to salvage the resulting reputation as an unsafe facility.
Some of the best arguments I've read for being unionized!
We had our first meeting yesterday. 6 nurses showed up. There are 72 in our unit. This is a start. I contacted the others and they all are going to start showing up and help make our working conditions better. It is a start. I have a question. Can LPN's be in an RN union. Our LPN's are not included in our bargaining unit and I'm not sure why. Can anyone answer this? Thanks.
I know in MN that LPN's are usually covered by a different union. RN's are MNA usually. Usually AFSCME. (www.AFSCME.org) Another possible source for the LPN's would be to contact NEA or AFT. They do have paraprofessional support bargaining units. (PLEASE NO FLAMES I PERSONALLY THINK LPN"S ARE PROFESSIONALS!) I don't know if SEIU organizes LPN's or not. Maybe Spacenurse can help answer that question.
One last comment. My Grandmother was a CRNA. She became prounion after the hospitals started hiring LPN's. As a CRNA she worked 29 of 30 days. 8-12 hour shifts and received a dollar a day for being on call. THe LPN's worked 8 hour days, and 5 day weeks. The LPN's helped improve the working conditions because thay were unionized and the RN's weren't at that time. As for me "UNIONS LEAD THE WAY!"
pickledpepperRN
4,491 Posts
LVNs/LPNs usually organize after RNs here.
Our LVNs attend our Professional Practice Committee meetings. Their knowledge and insight are very helpful. They also sign petitions to management.
They can't get paid but do eat the pizza or pansit.
I'm sure lives have been saved by RNs, LVNs, and CNAs working together to resolve problems.