INCREDIBLE CNA/NNOC victory in Houston.

[Chico David]

I'm posting this fast, and don't yet have all the details, but here is what I do know:

CNA just won a representation election for the RNs at Cypress Fairbanks Hospital, a part of the Tenet chain in Houston Texas.

Other than a small number of RNs employed by the federal government, this represents the first unionized nurses in the entire state a very tough organizing environment. It is the first major fruits of a three year statewide campaign.

The election was run under an organizing agreement won at the bargaining table by Tenet nurses in California.

Don't yet have numbers or other details, will make a second post when I do. I've met some of these Texas nurses and they are just the greatest. This is only the first of many organizing victories to come in this state.

[Ludlow]

The hospitals here in TX are in a very strong bargaining position because of the right to work status- they know many people don't support the union or won't pay dues. I expect a protracted contract negotiation that may or may not benefit the staff. Like it or not, they're here and we have to deal with them.

Dragging out and delaying a first contract is bad faith bargaining. It's illegal. Hospitals do it all the time. In doing so they are just showing their true colors. They are not on our side or even on the side of our patients. They are on their share holders side, servants of the almighty dollar. Our duty is to assure safe, therapeutic care. We are in 2 totally different universes.

[nicurn001]

When you have a ratio law and a contract which states minimum staffing you use that as a base , if as Ludlow says acuity demands a higher number of staff that need can be met without canabilising other assignments ( method of choice of management , if you have no mandated minimum ratio). If you have to rely upon the goodwill of management in a for profit facility , good luck , on getting them to increase the TOTAL number of nurses to meet a need .

[vlynnieg]

I'm going to go on record with a few observations. First, let me state that I'm relatively new to the union debate. Until recently, it had little to nothing to do with me as a professional. Sure, I received stuff in the mail, but wasn't interested and promptly round-filed it after reading. I guess like Niemoller wasn't concerned about the Nazis until they were knocking upon his door, I wasn't concerned about the Union until it was breathing down my neck.

Both of my parents have been screwed over by Unions at one time or another. My mother, as a nurse, despite her vast body of experience as nurse, was the newest person on her unit and therefore was consistently the first person that got her hours cut. It didn't take long at that rate for her PTO hours to be depleted to the point of there being no hope of any actual vacation with the family.

My dad, on the other hand, suffered at the hands of the automotive Union. While he was serving his country in Viet Nam, there were others that were accrewing 'seniority'. When he came home and joined the civilian job force, every time there was a layoff at the plant he worked at, guess who got the slip?

So, yeah, I have somewhat of a problem with the idea of giving my hard-earned dollars to any organization that operates that way, and such is the mechanism of Unions. In addition to this, my dollars are going to be handed over to support poilical candidates and causes I do not support. Not a very pallatable idea.

I know many of you pro-Union posters have your favorite articles that you probably have bookmarked, to 'prove' the point you're trying to make. Anyone that has ever taken a statistics class knows that data can be manipulated to 'prove' or 'disprove' anything. Given time, I'm sure I'll have my favorites all bookmarked as well, but I doubt you'll care. It's just funny how your 'facts' are gospel and everyone else's 'facts' are heresy.

Many of us chose autonomy, a characteristic valued by nurses in general. Accept this and do not belittle any of us for sharing our opinions, same as you have shared yours, simply because our opinions differ from yours. IF the hospitals in TX ever get a contract, and IF any good actually comes out of it, then great. but. I am not pro-Union, and feel it is unlikely I ever shall be. Be at peace with the idea, it'll do you good.

shalom,

Lynnie

[Ludlow]

Many of us chose autonomy, a characteristic valued by nurses in general. Accept this and do not belittle any of us for sharing our opinions, same as you have shared yours, simply because our opinions differ from yours. IF the hospitals in TX ever get a contract, and IF any good actually comes out of it, then great. but. I am not pro-Union, and feel it is unlikely I ever shall be. Be at peace with the idea, it'll do you good.

shalom,

Lynnie

I appreciate your history and struggle, Lynnie. Thanks for putting it out there.

I would just like to remind us all that we have overtime pay and vacation pay and the concept of a weekend and health insurance benefits and retirement benefits and no child laboring in coal mines and scores of other taken-for-granted improvements in life because of unions. Workers united can make tremendous valuable gains for themselves as a group and for their professions that a single worker is just not able to do.

As nurses we don't do our work of healing and caring single-handedly by ourselves. Though nothing is perfect, I find it far better being in a union having fellow nurses by my side helping me solve my institutional patient care problems. I'm glad to not be going it alone.

[vlynnieg]

ludlow, i do not operate alone, i have the support of my team and we work well together to accomplish a lot. when we need support from our administration, we ask and we work together for solutions. if anyone from my team elects to join the union, that is their prerogative, and they are still valued members of our team. however, i and almost everyone on my particular unit, don't feel a need for unionization. i'm certain i stated very clearly several posts back that unionization is a concept that has outlasted its purpose.

as i stated three days ago: if unions were merely a 'tool' i don't think they would be making such a gross profit in this equation. unionization is a concept that has outlived its usefulness. long-gone are the sweatshops and child labor--the abhorrent conditions-- of yesteryear. now it merely exists to perpetuate itself.

[Ludlow]

ludlow, i do not operate alone, i have the support of my team and we work well together to accomplish a lot. when we need support from our administration, we ask and we work together for solutions. if anyone from my team elects to join the union, that is their prerogative, and they are still valued members of our team. however, i and almost everyone on my particular unit, don't feel a need for unionization. i'm certain i stated very clearly several posts back that unionization is a concept that has outlasted its purpose.

as i stated three days ago: if unions were merely a 'tool' i don't think they would be making such a gross profit in this equation. unionization is a concept that has outlived its usefulness. long-gone are the sweatshops and child labor--the abhorrent conditions-- of yesteryear. now it merely exists to perpetuate itself.

we now face national hospital chains and multinational corporations. we still need the strength of the many to protect standards.

[txdude35]

I voted "no," but as I said, they're here now and have to be dealt with. Many of my fellow staffers aren't going to join but I can't do that. The only way to have a voice, IMHO, is to be involved. I'm not going to let someone else make crucial decisions about the course of my professional life without input from me so not only am I joining the union I'm running for shop steward for my unit/shift.

Going to another hospital is out of the question. I may not be too keen on the union but I'd rather stay where I am and see where it goes than go back to Tenet any day of the week.

[nicurn001]

txdude35 good luck to you , if you can direct the power you felt you had as an individual , to ensure the applicable laws , the eventual contract and the facility / corporate policies are followed by your employer , you will be doing yourself and fellow nurses a great service .

Often it is those who go into something with doubts who can be a great asset to their new enterprises .

[forrester]

ludlow, i do not operate alone, i have the support of my team and we work well together to accomplish a lot. when we need support from our administration, we ask and we work together for solutions. if anyone from my team elects to join the union, that is their prerogative, and they are still valued members of our team. however, i and almost everyone on my particular unit, don't feel a need for unionization. i'm certain i stated very clearly several posts back that unionization is a concept that has outlasted its purpose.

as i stated three days ago: if unions were merely a 'tool' i don't think they would be making such a gross profit in this equation. unionization is a concept that has outlived its usefulness. long-gone are the sweatshops and child labor--the abhorrent conditions-- of yesteryear. now it merely exists to perpetuate itself.

nothing could be further from the truth, sorry.

american businesses have been moving labor off shore for decades now, gutting the american middle class. salaries have been stagnant while ceo salaries have skyrocketed.

administrative perks are out-of-control.

the only reason nurses have not been affected more is that we are a service industry and our labors are hands on. that said, the industry has been trying to remove us from the bedside for decades.

here's the problem- we can't have a society where we produce nothing and live taking care of each other in service industries. when the financial crunch comes, and it will, nurses will be sacrificed just like everyone else, even those of you who play "by their rules".

nursing needs to become more than a labor group, i agree. we need a social movement, a social activism identity. we must be more than just patient advocates, we need to become social activists as well. therein lies the root to our fulfillment, because that is our foundational history. we have to stand for more than just ourselves and our individual patient. while an empowered association can do that, the ana has not been able to meet that goal. it simply does not stand up for the issues which bedside nurses have identified as their core issues.

the cna/nnoc, and now the nnu are doing this. they are reconnecting with our social activism roots. maybe you don't need a union, maybe you are a super nurse. many nurses, however, are victims of hospital and other healthcare facilities who could care less about their health or the patients safety.

a new report out shows that an increasing number of healthcare facilities, particularly the catholic hospitals, are denying women access to complete medical information regarding birth control and other family planning options, including abortion of course. this is wrong. roe v wade is the law of the land. hospitals, as deliverers of medical care, need to keep religion where it belongs, not at the bedside.

an empowered nursing profession is the only voice sometimes to deal with these kind of social issues. not many of us can just pick up and move if we don't agree with the staffing (and other) policies of our facilities. sometimes, there may only be one facility within a reasonable commuting distance.

kudos to you (and your team whatever that means) for being so independent. try to be a little more understanding for the rest of us who feel the need for colective action. i agree, it's not the solution at every facility. some administrations are enlightened. most are not.

the results being published by linda aiken are clear. mandated staffing levels are working.

[txdude35]

txdude35 good luck to you , if you can direct the power you felt you had as an individual , to ensure the applicable laws , the eventual contract and the facility / corporate policies are followed by your employer , you will be doing yourself and fellow nurses a great service .

Often it is those who go into something with doubts who can be a great asset to their new enterprises .

Thanks, I appreciate it. One of the things that cracked me up when I was duking it out with the organizers was, when asked how the unit rep would be chosen the reply was "sounds like you'd be a pretty good one."

If chosen I plan to try my best to keep everyone honest.

[vlynnieg]

Nursing needs to become more than a labor group, I agree. We need a social movement, a social activism identity. We must be more than just patient advocates, we need to become social activists as well. Therein lies the root to our fulfillment, because that is our foundational history. We have to stand for more than just ourselves and our individual patient. While an empowered association can do that, the ANA has not been able to meet that goal. It simply does not stand up for the issues which bedside nurses have identified as their core issues.

The CNA/NNOC, and now the NNU are doing this. They are reconnecting with our social activism roots. Maybe you don't need a union, maybe you are a super nurse. Many nurses, however, are victims of hospital and other healthcare facilities who could care less about their health or the patients safety.

A new report out shows that an increasing number of healthcare facilities, particularly the Catholic hospitals, are denying women access to complete medical information regarding birth control and other family planning options, including abortion of course. This is wrong. Roe v Wade is the law of the land. Hospitals, as deliverers of medical care, need to keep religion where it belongs, not at the bedside.

An empowered nursing profession is the only voice sometimes to deal with these kind of social issues. Not many of us can just pick up and move if we don't agree with the staffing (and other) policies of our facilities. Sometimes, there may only be one facility within a reasonable commuting distance.

Kudos to you (and your team whatever that means) for being so independent. Try to be a little more understanding for the rest of us who feel the need for colective action. I agree, it's not the solution at EVERY facility. Some administrations are enlightened. Most are not.

Dude, you're taking this a lot of different directions, but there are several points that I'd like to address:

(deep breath) here we go--

I can be socially active without chosing your specific cause to espouse. As a matter of fact, i have several causes near and dear to me, some of which are interconnected with each other. None of thempertain to you or your cause, so the details of which aren't neccessary.

You talk about Catholic hospitals and Roe vs. Wade. Don't. Go. There. There may be a right for women to privately murder their unborn, but with that does not come the right to supercede other people's right to not be involved with same decision if it against their conscience to do so. One of the biggest problems today in this country IMHO is that we are forced to only practice our faith in that one hour a week (or as my schedule permits one hour every two weeks) that we are in our respective places of worship. This great nation was founded upon an idea of freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. This means that, in theory, we can practice our faith free from persecution. Unfortunately, it is increasingly apparent that we are disallowed to live our faiths as it may be an inconvenience to others. I will not force my religious values on you if you will agree not to force your apparent lack of them on me. My faith is what led me to nursing and the area I specialize in and the care I provide to my patients and the support I give to my teammates is an expression of my faith.

Thanks, also for the pot shots: super nurse, huh? And the (and your team whatever that means) was a nice touch as well. So very endearing. Then you ask for 'understanding'? Lovely.

I didn't enter into this to war with you. I've said my piece, and now I simply reiterate: peace be with you (shalom)

[PMHNP10]

I could tell by the manner in which many of the ballots were marked that many of the ones that were against had very strong feelings. By contrast, I didn't see any of the pro-union votes marked with such vigor.

Hardly a scientific observation, but regardless, the above observation doesn't change the fact that a majority did in fact vote for the union.

So now you have a choice between becoming active in your union (similar to what TXdude is stating he'll do) and making your union work for you

OR

you can take a 2nd vote with your feet

OR

you can be a malcontent, marking off days on your calendar before the impending decert. vote

I'm hoping you and your fellow workers do as TXdude says he plans to do and become active; who knows, even though your facility doesn't need the union (that by pure accident happened to be voted for by a majority, because the hospital is already a great place to work with ratios close to the ones in CA, regular pay raises, solid benefits, ability to advocate for your patient, your fellow nurses, and yourself without fear of administrative backlash) maybe, just maybe you can find some way to make your hospital even a little better; or at least that is my hope for you and your colleagues