Raids on members causing high fever in nurse unions

[Brian, ASN, RN]

California Nurses Association may be targeting University of Chicago after Cook County win

If there's a campaign map on the wall at the Oakland, Calif., headquarters of the California Nurses Association, the Chicago area must be ground zero.

Since winning away Cook County's 1,800 nurses from the Illinois Nurses Association, the independent union has linked with nurses at more than 20 Chicago-area hospitals with the goal of organizing a handful of them, union officials say.

One possible target is the University of Chicago Hospitals, where workers from the national organizing arm of the California Nurses have been talking with nurses.

They say they are only helping the 1,300 University of Chicago nurses, who belong to the Illinois Nurses Association. But they do not rule out an eventual organizing drive like the one they successfully staged at Cook County.

The situation is "reminiscent" of what happened with Cook County's nurses, confirmed Fernando Losada, head of Midwest operations for the National Nurses Organizing Committee, the national arm for the California Nurses Association.

Full Story: Raids on members causing high fever in nurse unions [Chicago Tribune,United States]

[SFCardiacRN]

CNA does play hardball but it is hard to ignore the progress they have made in California. We have some of the highest wages in the world and the only state mandated patient ratios.

[Nemhain]

CNA does play hardball but it is hard to ignore the progress they have made in California. We have some of the highest wages in the world and the only state mandated patient ratios.

Exactly. Working conditions for nurses in California would be completely medieval if it weren't for the CNA fighting for them.

[SFCardiacRN]

Exactly. Working conditions for nurses in California would be completely medieval if it weren't for the CNA fighting for them.

Before CNA, conditions were as bad as the southern midwest is today.

[JRB-RN]

No doubt, CNA is certainly a shaker and mover in the world of unionism; but, with the number of unorganized facilities around the country, these type of tactics raises concerns about the motives of the CNA..... Is it about protecting the rights of Nurses or is it more about building a biggest union?

[SFCardiacRN]

Is it about protecting the rights of Nurses or is it more about building a biggest union?

Both! It takes a powerful union to create state based changes. The corporations that run hospitals and lobby lawmakers are huge and powerful. They are not about to listen to a 100 member union of disgruntled nurses. Now a 100,000 member union or better yet, a 1,000,000 member union...now that gets attention!

[SueBee RN-BSN]

Working in California is not that great. Retention is low in most hospitals. I saw violence against nurses, from doctors in three different hospitals. The only places APN's work is the VA, military hospitals, and Kaiser. California is all about money, and a very non caring attitude looms. I was a member of the CNA, and they do not respond.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Wow, I work in CA and it was hardly "medieval". Or violent.

steph

[SueBee RN-BSN]

I worked in San Diego, Corona, and Riverside. In San Diego I saw a doctor push a nurse down in a chair. Corona was worst, a MD slammed a phone down on a nurses hand, breaking bones in her hand. The nurse was fired. CNA did not respond when asked. In Riverside I saw a doctor spit in a nurses face. I moved out of California, and will never return.

[pickledpepperRN]

I don’t think CNA represents any nurses working at facilities in Corona. Neither do they represent Kaiser Nurses in Southern California, not San Diego or Riverside Kaiser Facilities. They do not represent nurses at the VA or military hospitals.

http://www.calnurses.org/facilities-bargaining/

http://www.calnurses.org/facilities-bargaining/hospitals-by-regions.html

http://www.calnurses.org/facilities-bargaining/facility-list-all.html

[fergus51]

I find conditions in California very good in general. I don't regret moving here for a second.

[SFCardiacRN]

While it is true that CNA does not represent VA hospitals (we have NFFE-IAM), their impact has been dramatic. The VA has had to increase wages in order to attract RN's. New grad wages have risen by 20k in the last 4 years at my hospital.