Nurse Mgr position at Union Hospital?

[bewitched]

Hi there! I applied for a Nurse Manager position a few weeks ago at a unionized hospital in Florida (NNU) and I didn't know it was unionized until just today. I have had 2 phone calls with a recruiter who most recently said he was going to circle back with the hiring managers and be in touch with me soon if they're interested in an interview. I am currently an Assistant Nurse Manager across town in a non-union hospital.

I am not against unions, I am familiar with NNU and my politics line up with theirs as well, for the most part. I just had no idea there were union hospitals in Florida and I don't know anything about how they work since I've never worked for one, nor how that would affect me as a Nurse Manager. My thought is, as long as I am keeping my nurses' wellbeing in mind and doing everything I can to foster a good working environment with safe staffing ratios etc to the best of my ability, I shouldn't have anything to worry about, right? Would I be expected by the nurses to join the union or vice versa would management expect me to be anti-union? Any thoughts on how, if at all, this would affect my day to day job if I were hired there?

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

Are the direct caregivers union, or only service staff? It's often not an all or nothing membership, and each entity may have its own union and bargaining group. Management doesn't usually join unions. The hospital doesn't want you to be anti-union, and hopefully its not a "them vs us" mentality, but a cooperative venture. Since the union is already a reality, they would expect you to be able to work within the system.

Unions provide an extra layer of protection to the employee. Depending on the contract, and the mindset, working with union clinicians may or may not be more problematic.

Good Luck

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

I don't think management is represented by the union.

Many managers appreciate having rules written in the union contract. It makes it easier regarding pay, schedules, vacation and other time off, and such.

Disciplinary rules are written too.

My nurse manager liked working where we had a contract.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

In my facility, management can't be a part of the nurses' union...and I think this is the norm in most places. If a nurse decides to move from the bedside to a managerial role, his/her union membership is terminated. If he/she returns to the bedside, he/she can rejoin.