How Many Nurses are Glad They Have a Union

Nurses General Nursing

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I think it would be very helpful to nurses out there to know how a union either helped them OR did not help them in their jobs as nurses.Please tell your union story are the union dues worth the protection, did your union rep represent you adequatly? What union do you think has the most clout? Etc, etc. etc.

Specializes in Telemetry and Med Surg overflow.

I have no desier to work at a non-union hospital. I've heard stories from freinds that have done so and my conclusion has been that the little power we have comes from being unionized. Also, after talking to travel nurses from all over the country coming from non-union hospitals it seems clears where the largest percentage of medical mistakes are occuring. The staffing ratios are insane.

We have a group of employees called Op-Techs who are nursing assistants that do blood draws and EKG's right on the unit. In order to create these positions the hospital insisted they NOT be unionized. They get hosed on holiday pay, sick time, and other things.

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Specializes in Med Surg.

originally posted by sisukas viewpost.gif

had a friend who worked in one of our union hospitals....she was reprimanded by the union rep for taking a patient off the bedpan instead of calling the cna because "if you're seen doing her job often enough, management will take her job away". she started referring to the care there as "patient fractured care" and left.

with all due respect that is total bs, i worked for a unionized hospital and non unionized nursing homes.i often helped the cna's out with their work, i was a union stewart!!

i'm not sure which part of your statement has all due respect....but since you probably didn't work in the same facility as my friend did and weren't there to see the kind of care that was given, calling this bs is pretty rude. not all unionized hospitals apparently have the same teamwork as the ones you worked for.

if you're saying that it's bs that this happened in a union facility out here, well, i agree with you.

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I wouldn't work in a non union hospital. Last year, our contract was negotiated to include twice a year salary increases. Within months, the other two non union hospitals in the area had to increase wages to retain nurses. So the nurses who work in our local non union hospitals can thank our union for their wage increase.

Because of union oversight, the management in my hospital is less likely to be unfair to workers. Because of this, Individual grievences are rare.

While I have not had to file a grievence, I take comfort in the fact that I have an advocate if I need to. do so.

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Specializes in ICu,CCU, med-surg, tele, peds.

Have worked in unionized hospitals twice, and very glad I did. No union gets into a health system that treats their staff fairly.

If all one ever gets for their union dues is due porcess of law regarding their contract, and a legally binding grievance and arrbitation system, you've gotten your moneys worth and then some. It will never solve all your problems-there are still people left in positions on both sides you don't like.

Except one side has legal protection. You may not appreciate that unless you saw a nurse fired for no good reason, without any appeals process. (I saw one- a dotor told the DON to get rid of the nurse as he didn't like her. So she did-fired her on the spot.

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(I saw one- a dotor told the DON to get rid of the nurse as he didn't like her. So she did-fired her on the spot.

That is scary.

Coming from a union background in my current public school teaching job, the idea of not working for a unionized group makes me nervous. Still, I am moving forward with my plans for nursing school.

I sure wish we had unionized hospitals here in Orlando.

I have heard good things about our local Florida Hospital system (Seventh Day Adventist)... apparently they have been chosen one of the top hospital systems in the U.S. for several years in a row by U.S. News and World Report, for whatever that's worth. I hope there is some substance to that.

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Specializes in ER/ ICU.

Our Union dues are approx 600 $ a year. Our pay is AWESOME and our benefits rock. I can't complain a bit.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
could anyone speak to the issue of protection, how has or has not a union rep helped you out in a tough spot?

i never got into a tough spot where i needed help from the union -- knock wood! but dh was a union rep -- in fact, he was the rep who helped nurses out of a tough spot! it's a good thing i'm not the jealous type, because there were crying women calling him at all hours of the day and night when they needed help!

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Yes, apparently SEIU has a local in Orlando. Scroll down for the links. I have no idea which facilities they serve.

SEIU Florida Healthcare Union

Well, that explains it. While SEIU has done some good things they haven't been nearly as effective as CNA, IMHO. SEIU represents too many other workers with competing and/or conflicting interests, while CNA focuses exclusively on nurses and, by and large, is run by nurses.

The only good thing about SEIU is that they're so big, they can have more political clout with legislatures but, they also do some really dumb things.

:typing

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Specializes in med-surg,sa,breast & cervical ca.

I am in a unionized postion, we are acutally represented by the Teamsters, which is primariliy a trucking/factory uinion. My experience is so far they keep the cost of our health benefits reasonable, other than that are pretty much useless. If you took the $ we are paying in uinion dues monthly that would probably make up the difference in health insurance costs.

I did file a grievance last year against my immediate supervisor who changed my my annual review AFTER we both signed off on it. He admitted it, apologized but HE and the director of human resources determined it would stay in my employee file anyway, the union rep told me that there was nothing they could do. Since when does the person you filed a grievance against get to decide the outcome? It should have been a impartial party. So I am pretty un-impressed with the union.

They also allow a LOT of discrimination and Hostile environment including physical threats to continue even after they have been reported in writing to our Union Rep many many times.

Personally, I think they are dirty and taking $ in exchange for doing what management wants here...That's been my experience as a Union employee the past 3 yr.s.

Ms.P

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Specializes in ER/ ICU.

I work at a union hospital and our pay and benefits ROCK!!!!! I cannot complain one bit. Ours is a nursing union.

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No union ...pay alot for nothing

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Specializes in Medical.

The Australian union situation seems to be very different than the US version. There's one nurses' union in each state (all affiliated with one national organisation). Conditions are maintained and improved by tri-annual Enterprise Agrrements, negotiated between the union and the state government - one agreement for all state-employed nurses, and separate agreements for nurses at particular private hospitals and networks. The conditions and wages apply to all nurses working within each system, whether or not they are union members.

Thanks to the Victorian branch of the ANF (of which I am a rep), we were the first workplace in the world to have mandated nurse/patient ratios. I have been involved in cases where good nurses would have been fired without union representation. Without the local organiser we would still be getting rosters a week in advance, rather than the legally-required month+.

My membership cost $38.55/month (at the annual conference job reps vote down decreased membership fees for reps) and is tax deductable.

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