Nursing strikes

cmo421 · Oct 23, 2007

I have heard about recent nursing strikes in the California area. I am curious about the ethical validity of these strikes. I understand that strikes can be a natural and extreme tool for improving the work place environment; however is it really appropriate in the nursing arena. My initial response is no because it obviously compromises patient safety. With that said perhaps it is appropriate because ultimately the environment may be safer in the end i.e. lower patient to nurse ratios and safer or improved methods and equipment. Interested in any feedback or opinions.

Patient safty is not compromised during a strike. Ten day notices are given,the hospital downsizes and ships out pts they can not handle. Supervisers and agency workers (unfortunately) fill in. I have never heard,not to say it has not happened,of a pt being compromised due to a strike. Nurses rarely strike,it happens only when u hit the wall and can not get what is needed to provide adequate care,benifits or gross pay issues. Ninety percent of the time, a strike notice is enough to get both parties serious and talking.

The only reason nurses are paid what they r today and have come as far as they have,is due to the pioneers that fought and went on strike years ago. Unions aren't always my favorite thing lately,sometimes great comes with disadvantages, but I would never cross a line, and I would strike if I had to.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2007

Please do a "search" on this BB for strike info.

These very strikes have several recent threads on them and there is a wealth of information available. As I note that you seem to be new, you might not be aware of them.

nyapa, RN · Oct 24, 2007

I think most nurses are antistriking. Its part of the reason we join the profession; to help ppl. But...in saying that, when nurses do strike it is as a last resort. Brian posted recently what has been happening in the state of Victoria in Australia where nurses have closed one in four beds in the hospitals. They are being docked pay by the establishment, but they are still doing it. I guess they are doing it this way so that there is still the full complement of staff on for the patients who are in the hospital.

Shenanigans, RN · Oct 31, 2007

NZL seems to have a good lot of strikes happening, teachers, nurses, even our doctors. The irony on that one, is that while on clinical I saw more doctors when they were supposed to be on strike!!

Anyway, I have issues with striking, especially in nursing care, in NZL we dont' have a lot of nurses anyway and there's oftentimes bed closures. I remember when I was in the hospital when I was 14, they were striking, and I went 12 hours without any pain medication, the only people I saw was the lunch lady, cleaning lady and some old man who tried to sell me a betting paper.

Mind you, that was over ten years ago and things have improved. I just hope that when I register, I can work the strikes without getting haggled or insulted by striking RNs (I've heard stories), I'm not wanting to be a "scab", but I just can't shake the experience I had.

turbohound · Nov 1, 2007

Hi, I live a short distance away from one of the Sutter facilities which had a one day strike. The nurses there had been working without a contract for seven months, and the strike was a last resort to force management to the bargaining table. Management had been stalling so the nurses would be forced to work without a contract (after it had expired).

Management doesn't care about patients. They get fat cat bonuses, for keeping costs down. To bad nursing is just treated as a cost. Management uses every trick in the book to keep from having to negotiate fairly and in a timely manner (like before the contract expires).

leslymill · Nov 9, 2007

California is working hard to improve the nurses working environment. They have a goal to no longer hire or train any RN without a BSN by 2010.

That is three years.

pickledpepperRN · Nov 9, 2007

California is working hard to improve the nurses working environment. They have a goal to no longer hire or train any RN without a BSN by 2010.
That is three years.

I haven't heard this.

Is the BRN doing this?

pedsmariposa · Nov 10, 2007

Striking..tough call either way...One the one hand - you ARE striking for (ultimately) a better outcome for the patients (ratios, staffing, better control)..On the other - it does SEEM you are abandoning the patients...I have never been in that position so I can't say what I'd do..

I now live in Colorado and have gotten two phone calls in the past two days from agencies looking for RN's to work the San Francisco area in anticipation of a strike (NOT happening for me, btw).

Well - good luck SF..Hope you get everything resolved w/o having to strike!

:balloons:

leslymill · Nov 11, 2007

I haven't heard this.
Is the BRN doing this?

It is the goal of The Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL) .

The BSN by 2010 Initiative calls for changes in nursing education and is grounded in three principles:

• the BSN will be the entry level degree for all new nurses to sit for the NCLEX in California beginning in 2010;

• all nurses who are licensed as RNs as of 2010 will be grand-fathered (no change in RN licensure status will occur); and

• an articulated system of nursing education will be developed so that students who start at a community college can earn a BSN in 4 years.

With this initiative, ACNL is positioned to lead the profession of nursing into a future of exciting new possibilities.

It is all outlined here.

http://www.nursingcenter.com/library/static.asp?pageid=746637

wayunderpaid · Nov 11, 2007

I know that this thread is about safety and nurses strikes, but the tangent re. BSN for entry in CA is really fascinating. I personally do not think it will happen. Been tried elsewhere and did not work.

BON's, legislators and desk-people who do not perform day-to-day patient care, and therefore lack understanding of current safety issues surrounding overworked and understaffed units have wonderful ideas that are nothing worth more than a cloud of colorful farts.

As an entry to practice with a BSN, I have nothing but the highest regard for ADN's and diploma nursing. I understand that the issue is about "professionalizing" nursing, like other careers, rather than safety and staffing. But curtailing a quick entry to practice will result in decreased patient safety. I would prefer the status quo, rather than this wonderful idea in paper, that we are professionals (Which we all know we are anyway, we oftentell the docs what to order, don't we?).

I sort of like the NY proposal to grant RN licenses to ADN for 10 years, so that they can attain BSN status in that time. I still have mixed feelings about it though, and of course, I have gone deeper on the tangent, and this proposal has been lingering in the NY legislature for months if not years, and not likely to surface again until after elections happen. Sorry, should have posted somewhere else...

Wayunderpaid

pickledpepperRN · Nov 12, 2007

The Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL) dues are paid by their employer.

That is the organization the chief nursing officers/vice presidents of patient care services/directors of nursing or whatever the title is belong to. The hire replacement nurses when there is a strike then lock out their nurses after the strike. I don't think they want to do this. Unfortunately the top nurse does not control the negotiations. I think if he or she did there would be no "last-best-final offer" and a refusal to negotiate with the nurses.

The article is already almost 7 years old.

The issue has not made it to the minutes of the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN). It is simply not possible until we create enough slots in entry leven BSN programs.

Anecdotally among the BSN RNs I know more than half earned their BSN after an associate degree. That is what I did too.

This issue has been on the agenda of the ANA for more than 40 years. They are spinning their wheels