Nurses crossing picket lines

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

I was talking some nurses today, a friend of mine and two of her nurse friends, one of whom I had never met. She was telling me about when she worked 9 nights straight during a strike somewhere, and she made over $11,000. She is currently working on getting her Calif license because there is going to be a strike somewhere there soon.

She said that previous strike lasted 3 or 4 months, and if she had stayed the whole time she would have made 2 years worth of salary. She told me that they put you up in a hotel and they bus you in to the hospital, so you don't actually see the strikers.

Interesting huh? What do you think?

[TopazLover, BSN, RN]

Never was in favor of scabs.

I do appreciate that sick people need care. Let the facility deal with the issues: nurses getting fair pay for a fair day's work. This includes workload and working conditions. These will not improve with the use of scabs.

[ShayRN]

I would never work for a hospital whose nurses are on strike. It just amazes me that these hospitals can afford to pay 11,000 for someone to cross picket lines but can't afford to give their staff a raise or decent health insurance. Nope, not me. I wouldn't cross for twice that amount.

[rokidog]

I also would never work in place of striking nurses. I think we should all stick together- nurses who stay united would improve all of our profession.

Tammy

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Moving to the Union Discussion forum. This topic has been done many times here at all nurses with those who favor making the most money possible without regard to the striking nurses and those who call them scabs and everything in between.

Enjoy.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

Moving to the Union Discussion forum. This topic has been done many times here at all nurses with those who favor making the most money possible without regard to the striking nurses and those who call them scabs and everything in between.

Enjoy.

Heh, heh, it's sounds like it has a potential to be volitile.

As far as the nurses I was with, they seemed to think that paying the high wages was the punishment the hospital has to pay for not coming to an agreement with the nurses. They figured that someone needs to take care of the patients, so it may as well be my friend's friend.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

It definitely has gotten volitile in the past for sure with name calling, etc. Hopefully people will stay respectful.

There is that delimema of the fact there are patients to take care of. If it were a hospital I was working at I would definitely support my coworkers and not cross. Although unions consider me management and won't let me join so I might be put in the bad position of being told to work or loose my job since I can't join a union.

On the other hand I can't blame a travel nurse or agency nurse for making the big bucks busting a strike.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

I wonder what the outcome of that strike was that she was referring to? I would think that drawing it out for 3 months, with the hospital paying through the nose for temporary help, would have definitely made the hospital think twice about their position.

Maybe someone involved in unions and negotiations could give us some perspective.

[smoke over fire]

Strikes are quickly becoming old news. Nurses are getting smarter and using other tactics instead of strikes to work for them. Once we had dock workers ready to cancel their contract with our hospitals' health plans if we didn't get our problems worked out (in solidarity). We also had a recent thing where staff stopped participating in meetings and such that was required by joint commission & DHS. No loss to patients, but a real big thorn in management's hide. The fines they faced would have been staggering.

So again Nurses are changing the labor movement. I hope one day we can all work together instead of having to sneak in to a hospital to work.

[Iam46yearsold]

Remember Scabs heal a injury

I have the greatest respect for nurses brave enough to cross picket lines. I never have. But I have never been in a position to do so.

[adawg67]

To Be A Scab Or Not

Just think-it's your mother in the hospital and instead of the experienced nurse taking care of her it's a nurse manager who hasn't seen the inside if the Pyxis in years and she's about to give Lovenox to your sweet, but very ill mother.

hhhmmmm...IS Lovenox given IM,SQ,IVP??? Well can't hurt to give it IVP right?

Nurses strike to improve patient care. As a nurse, bargaining team member and former union organizer I can tell you the folks who crossed the picket lines the last time the nurses are my hospital struck are 95% going to strike this time, have quit or don't care that their co-workers think they are lower than the belly of a worm.

If you are into nursing for the quick buck go abroad, get into another field. Why do you need money so badly? Is it??could it be?? that you aren't covered under a union contract now that guarantees you wage increases, benefits, employer paid health benefits, education reimbursement, etc???

Think carefully about crossing a picket line. Why would you call yourself a professional and yet not honor your peers and support them? Well I guess if you are travelling hobo RN with no community, no family, no ties to a peer group it may seem like no big deal. BUt it is.

The hospital can always settle to avoid a strike. Anyone who works a strike to "save the patients" needs to get their head checked and look up the definition of the following: codependency, narcissism, egotistical. I'm sure one of these will fit.

[Iam46yearsold]

Hello

That is a rather hate filled post, I'm sorry you feel that way.

First off Nurses who cross picket lines are all nurses first, last, and foremost. Just because they do not agree with your political and financial agenda, does not mean they are less than qualified.

Second, we are all in nursing, to make a living. To make ourselves financially secure in life. None of us work for free. And the large majority of strikes deal with financial matters anyway. Better pay, more nurses, better benefits. So the strike itself is primarily about money.

Thirdly, traveling or strike working nurses should never be referred to as scabs, hobos, no family. Most are supporting themselves and their families. But it is wrong to insult them just because you disagree with them.

Codependency,narcissism, egotistical, this is all unnecessary name calling, and counter productive to any discussion