OsceolaRN

In my case I had made it abundantly clear to the union punks that I did not wish to have anyone visit my home under any circumstances. Given that I live in a gated community, if someone would have knocked at my door and refused to leave IMMEDIATELY when asked to do so, the castle law would apply. Our nurse tech was personally visited by one of the punks, and woke up only 30 minutes after falling asleep. When she asked through the door who was there she was told it was someone from the union at the hospital. She opened the door and told them she had just gone to bed and was not interested in talking. The punk put his foot in the door and said it would only take a few minutes to talk. Again, she said that she was not interested, and yet again he asked for a few minutes. When he finally moved his foot from the door she closed it, and the AH said through the closed door that he would be back on Thursday. Yeah...nothing threatening or intimidating about that! Ask Ken Gladney how violent the SEIU can be.

It's not ad "odd twist," as you say to claim in a press release that say's 92% of the RN's at a particular hospital voted for union representation when I doubt the general public, in light of generally decreasing union membership throughout the country, know that it's not 92% of the total RN's voted in favour, but rather something closer to 64%. There's nothing "patently absurd" about lying to people. The hospital was bound, via the neutrality agreement in place, to not engage in negative behaviour, and having a union rep tell two people to not vote if they were going to vote against the union would seem to be a violation of of the spirit of whatever neutrality agreement that was in place at the time. It's not as if I know what was in the agreement, since it was kept secret, but the hospital attorney did, and the information was passed along for a complaint.

We have a "castle law" here in Florida as well, ominous. I made it clear to the punks who were attempting to speak to me at work that a visit to my house would not be a welcome one. 1199SEIU was especially aggressive in visiting the homes of the recalcitrant tech's and RT's, who seemed mostly outraged that anyone would visit their homes.

I agree with you, ominous. I was always vaguely aware of what it meant to live in a Right to Work state, but in the last 45 days I've learned a lot about it and have become involved with the awesome people at the National Right to Work Legal Foundation. I've also been outraged that my personal information was released by my hospital to the union without my consent...under any other circumstance this requires a court order. I'll be working with my state senator and representative during the next session to investigate whether a remedy might be available to this at the state level. At an absolute minimum I should have been allowed to opt-out of any release of information. I'm concerned about what happens to my information once it's released to the union, in whose custody it remains, and who has access to it. I'm still waiting for an answer from the union, if I don't receive one, I'll seek legal remedy.

David, I never meant to imply that I had a great "understanding of the bargaining process." What I do know beyond any shadow of a doubt is that what I recieve for compensation and benefits is fair. Before chosing to work here I was here as a traveler, and also at the other two large hospital systems in the central Florida area as a traveler. The difference in pay here is +/- 1.75/hour. While slightly higher differentials exist at the two other hospitals they're also attempting to staff hospitals with >500 beds. What kind of leverage do you expect the union to exert here during negotiations/bargaining. If it's no longer about give and take but rather about meeting demands "or else" why call it negotiating or bargaining? Call it what it is....extortion. Could our benefits package be better. Of course. Who's couldn't. The simple point I've been trying to make is that the union was making promises that they'll in no way be able to deliver on. There are dozens of people who honestly believe that their 17% pay raise is "just around the corner," and that they'll no longer be paying for health care because someone who they'll never see again came in and told them so. It's laughable that I wouldn't be outraged when my friends, my work "family" have been lied to. No one would buy a car or a house sight unseen. No one would agree to purchase insurance or invest in a 401K without comparing plans. Yet the union wants people to sign-up for membership (i.e. dues) without having a contract in place. I say wait until something is worked out and if it's in your favour...go for it. Hell, if they deliver on all of their promises I'll even sign-up. What I don't buy, however, is that there's power in the numbers. One of the reasons I wanted to work here, and chose to work here, is because it felt like "home," and my colleagues felt like "family." When push comes to shove no one here, except the extreme militants, would ever consider striking...would ever consider walking away from their patients in the community we all live in and serve. While I have no great knowledge on the bargaining process I do know more about my colleagues than you do, more about my community than you do. I might be dense, but I'm not stupid. Nor is my administration, who I like, admire, and support. I'm more profoundly depressed that my hospital would not stand and fight against the union than I ever will be that my colleagues voted it in.

I never said the comment was necessarily relevant :-) It just seems dishonest when the union keeps promoting the "92%" number without clarifying that almost 25% of the nurses failed to vote, which was the equivalent of them voting yes. I don't know how many people may have been influenced by the union rep telling them not to vote. What I do know is that two people from separate units who didn't know each other and worked on different nights were told the same thing by the same person. That, in and of itself, would seem to be a violation of NRLB rules, but I'm under no illusion that the NLRB cares about any potential violation from a union, only the employer.

It was more like 64% of the total nurses eligible to vote, NICURN. While 64% of the vote is still impressive considering, the union still couldn't be honest enough to say what the actual figure was. For all intents and purposes, HCA did tell us to vote in a union. Since they couldn't actively campaign against it, or at least present an alternative case scenario, the union was allowed to tell people anything they wanted to hear in order to get out the vote.

I appreciate the opportunity to respond, Chico David. I am hardly a representative of any organization greater that myself, David. You are correct vis a vis the neutrality agreement in the behaviour that both the hospital and union were subject to...and against. Since the hospital could take no stand, either for or against the union with their employees, how would you suggest those of us who were opposed to the union get our message out? None of us were obviously skilled in the endavour, while the union had teams or organizers in our facility who were specially trained. Don't tell me for a minute that there was no specific promises made. I know of at least 10+ employees who were specifically told they would receive a 17% pay increase, two of whom were told in my presence by one of the union reps. I called BS on the statement immediately and engaged the rep...only to have her immediately use her cellphone to call the escort to leave the break room. The fact is that Florida is NOT California, and while the union made a lot of effort to show their negotiated California pay-rates and contract they never provided anything contract, pay scale, or nurse:patient ratio's for ANY Florida facility that they represent. There are, quite honestly, nurses here who expect to receive a 17% pay increase in the new contract and expect to not have to contribute towards their health care expenses. What planet to they live on? No one seems to be aware that the process of negotiation involves give and take from both sides. Were they honestly ever told that in order to reap the totality of promises made to them that they're likely going to have to give-up something they currently have? Not likely.

Is anyone ever thrilled with their pay increases, Matt? Seriously? The fact is that with minimal overtime (i.e. one-extra shift/week) I made well over $100K last year...and I'm a staff nurse, not management like you alluded to. Hec, we'd all like more $$ but what we earn is commensurate with the cost of living in our area...if not more than fair considering our county ranks #1 in foreclosures and among the top-5 for unemployment in the state. You are correct in that our insurance rates did increase this year, we're in our enrollment period now, but did increase 1-3 times like HR said they might.

You're joking? Right? Following the last election there is something like 25+ democrats/progressives in the entire legislature.

Actually, David, the margin was more like 64% if you look at the total number of RN's employed and eligible to vote. During the two days immediately preceeding the vote at least one union rep was telling those who had informed him they were voting no that it wasn't important for them to vote, or to not vote at all.

HCA actually signed a neutrality agreement with the union which gave the union unfettered access to the hospital for a period of 75 days. During this period of union organizing the hospital and hospital administration were barred from discussing either the pro's or con's of the union. The union rep's were in the hospital 24/7 for 3 weeks and were given free access to break-rooms and other employee-only areas. Meanwhile, employees who were opposed to the union were not provided meeting space and were subjected to harassment by union organizers via the filing of complaints against them. While at Osceola Regional the union rep's were essentially allowed to lie or say anything they wanted to further their recruiting goals. They were promising Osceola Regional nurses a California-based pay scale in the $60+/hr range, "free" healthcare insurance, an immediate 17% pay increase, and a full-union pension. You know the old adage, "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is?" Sadly, not enough people did. For some unknown reason, the union rep's failed to tell the nurses that their pension program had to be bailed-out by the federal government because it was insolvent. On the bright side, Florida is a Right to Work state and no employee will be required to join or pay dues to the union. Rumor has it that the hospital and union have 12 months to finish a contract. Meanwhile, the roughly 3-4% annual pay increase that we have been used to, and which is eminently fair based upon our local economy, will probably be on hold. The union rep's will probably return to harass employees to sign union member cards so they can reap what is really their ultimate goal...more money and power for their union, and nothing for their members. Don't do it! Don't sign anything from the union UNLESS and UNTIL they deliver on their promises with a contract containing every promise they made to Osceola Regional's outstanding team of nurses. With any luck, the nurses at Osceola Regional will realize they have been lied to and vote to decertify the union in a year, like the nurses at HCA sister facility Northside Hospital in St. Pete did a few months ago! If you work at any HCA facility in the West Florida Division beware of these reprobates! In the meantime, as a Christmas gift to my fellow employees, I will personally pay the postage to send every RN at our facility a reality-based fact sheet on what it means to be fortunate to live in a Right to Work state, and how to exercise their right to not be a union member until they (the union) deliver on their promises.