Nursing Unions-what is the good,bad, ugly?

PaulaP · Mar 5, 2006

Well, in NYS if a place has a union you MUST join it. Closed shop state.I can tell you that, since I must join if one exists where I work I will, but under no circumstances would I strike. I would, in that instance, go against my grandfathers and cross the line as a scab.

I work in a hospital represented by NYSNA and we are NOT a closed shop. The union represents all RN's whether they are a member of the union or not.

cacwell · Mar 5, 2006

...My only annoyance so far has been the seniority thing. I can't get a day shift because I have no seniority.

I work in a non-union hospital and seniority plays out the same way: new nurses must wait on a queue for an opening on day shift; the senior nurses get first pick of vacation, educational opportunities, and (in most cases) promotions; and seniority deffinately comes in to play when it comes to taking care of the socially (or contenance) challenged patients....

IOW seniority is not just a union issue.

bhacken · Mar 5, 2006

The real reason for going by seniority is so that the managers can't pick from their buddy list or just go with the biggest suckup, ignoring better qualified people with more time and experience. That causes hard feelings too.

If the hospital and the union members see this as a problem they can negotiate a way to make fair choices taking all qualifications into account. I've worked in union and non-union companies and although they're not perfect, I'll take a union any time. The union after all is made up of it's members and they have the final say on the contract that is accepted.

allnurses Guide · Mar 6, 2006

And you are talking about my generation, not todays. Yes, there are bad union leaders. And yes they have robbed their members. But please name me one nursing 'union' that is guilty of such behavior, just one.
Grannynurse:balloons:

http://www.unionfacts.com/

steph

SueBee RN-BSN · Mar 6, 2006

Every time the union got us poor hard working nurses a much needed raise, the dues went up.

bhacken · Mar 6, 2006

I work in the Akron, OH area and the largest union hospital usually sets the pay and benifit scale. When they negotiate a new contract with higher pay and benefits the other hospitals in the area come up with something comparable to keep from losing their nurses.

OC_An Khe · Mar 6, 2006

By all measures a unionized hospital will over the long term have higher wages then a comparable non unionized hospital. You also have a contract that can be enforced through the appropriate external legal system. But you need to remember that a local union and subsequently the state/national affiliate is only as good as the local members make it. If a majority of the members are not knowledgeable about their local and participate in its governance, negotiating, and day to day activites then you will not get the best that unions have to offer.

SFCardiacRN · Mar 7, 2006

...My only annoyance so far has been the seniority thing. I can't get a day shift because I have no seniority

.

There is another way to look at senority. How would you feel if you had been at a facility for 15 years and a day shift finally opens up but you're told a new grad is going to get it because she doesn't want to work nights. I know I would be upset.

tami.green · Mar 8, 2006

Advances in pay, benefits and working conditions are directly linked to nurses organizing in unions. I am surprised to see so many disapproving entries. When I started my nursing career in 1982 I did not have any kind of job security...just an hourly wage and some miniscual vacation benefits. Today a nurse wouldn't even consider a job without a pension or at least a 401 k program. Shift differentials, charge pay, on call pay, safe needles, no mandatory overtime etc. all come from nurses coming together with a voice. The nurses association was a start but unions like the SEIU and AFSCME have moved us to another level.

On a personal note my union activity led to my political activity which led me to the state legislature as a representative. I serve on the health care committee and today we passed a bill to mandate hospitals to have "no lift" policies and purchase the equipment to do it with within 5 years. The nurses lobbied the legislature to put the pressure on to pass the bills. The nurses came together from UFCW, SEIU and the WA state Nurses association together to get this landmark legislation. Unions may not be perfect. No organization is.. but I think you have to judge the tree by it's fruit. They have been great for nurses.

Tami

pickledpepperRN · Mar 8, 2006

...Thirty-five percent of hospitals in California have RN unions. The significant finding in this study is that hospitals in California with RN unions have lower mortality rates for AMI after accounting for patient age, gender, type of MI, chronic diseases, and severak organizational characteristics....

The MNA summarized it:

http://www.massnurses.org/News/2002/002004/study.htm

This was from the March 2002 issue of the Journal of Nursing Administration.

RN34TX · Mar 8, 2006

.
There is another way to look at senority. How would you feel if you had been at a facility for 15 years and a day shift finally opens up but you're told a new grad is going to get it because she doesn't want to work nights. I know I would be upset.

And that just happened on my unit. (Texas, of course.)

All of the day nurses are supposed to take turns filling in the gaps for night shift when there are holes. The newest hire has yet to work a single night shift because she flat out refuses to do so.

She of course, is a friend and ex-coworker of the manager's husband.

There are nurses on my unit who've been there 15+ years still putting in their share of night shifts because that's the supposed rules of working on my unit.

But the rules only apply to some.

Sheri257 · Mar 8, 2006

And that just happened on my unit. (Texas, of course.)
All of the day nurses are supposed to take turns filling in the gaps for night shift when there are holes. The newest hire has yet to work a single night shift because she flat out refuses to do so.
She of course, is a friend and ex-coworker of the manager's husband.
There are nurses on my unit who've been there 15+ years still putting in their share of night shifts because that's the supposed rules of working on my unit.
But the rules only apply to some.

Wow ... :no: