I've been asked to be on our organization's union negotiations committee

[klone, MSN, RN]

I am a nurse manager. I am also very pro-nurse, and feel that my main job as a nurse manager is to advocate for my staff. My boss's boss, one of the "chiefs" of the organization, asked if I would be part of the contract negotiations committee for the nurses' contract, to which I agreed.

I'm very trepidatious, because I feel like I'm straddling both sides here. I want to make sure our nurses get a good contract. But yet, I'm representing the "other side". Am I overthinking this? Is it okay to be part of this process when I have divided loyalties?

[klone, MSN, RN]

Turns out, there was no moral conflict or difficulty. Apparently the standard tactic is to ask for the world, and then meet somewhere in the middle. As pro-nurse as I am, even I was left saying "Um...NO" to many of the demands.

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

I've participated in several union contract negotiations, at 2 different employers. We would survey the nurses to see what were the top 3-4 priorities, which usually included a pay raise. We based our ask on what other employers were doing, plus cost of living. The employer usually suggested a decrease in benefits and a freeze in pay.

We always got a cost of living increase, and 3-5% wage increase. The employer increased the FTE required to get benefits. 

The nurses would ask for something about staffing ratios, and the employer would offer to have ongoing discussions. I listened to a lot of discussion about how lazy nurses liked to game the system, and the employer heard about the insane work assignments and being unable to take more than 5 days of vacation.