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.
I think there is nothing wrong with that if they recognize why unions come into hospitals in the first place. IMO, unions are a response to bad management. If staff feel that they are being treated fairly by management, they will not vote in a union. There are anti-union managers who have kept unions out by treating their staff fairly and I think that's a good thing.
I think there is nothing wrong with that if they recognize why unions come into hospitals in the first place. IMO, unions are a response to bad management. If staff feel that they are being treated fairly by management, they will not vote in a union. There are anti-union managers who have kept unions out by treating their staff fairly and I think that's a good thing.
I think the problem is that, just as often as not, UNIONS ARE BAD MANAGEMENT, TOO. Look at this thread's original subject matter: Instead of trying to successfully represent nurses, it seems that nursing unions are in a turf war with each other, raiding other unions in some spitting contest.
You let union run your job, and it takes on a life of its own. It's best interest is itself. You are a distant third now - behind management, and now them.
No one needs a union...until they need one. But once you've been unfairly fired, or switched to an unwanted shift, or been passed over for a raise, or given 20 patients, or forced into mandatory overtime or had benefits cut...it might be too late.
I think the problem is that, just as often as not, UNIONS ARE BAD MANAGEMENT, TOO. Look at this thread's original subject matter: Instead of trying to successfully represent nurses, it seems that nursing unions are in a turf war with each other, raiding other unions in some spitting contest.
You let union run your job, and it takes on a life of its own. It's best interest is itself. You are a distant third now - behind management, and now them.
~faith,
Timothy.
That does depend on the union. I've been in CNA and very happy with it. Their priorities were my priorities (limiting floating, seeing a wage increase, patient ratios). A union has to satisfy the majority of its members or it can be decertified. That's a pretty good motivation.
Last year I attended a seminar here in California. Nurses from Cook County also attended.
They said that they had tried and tried to get action from their previous union.
They were stewards and elected leaders working hard for their members.
After many years they got together eating pizza and decided they needed a different union.
They contacted many unions including CNA (they saw the web site).
It's a long story but the nurses themselves wanted to be in a union that was acting on patient care issues. Previously OB nurses were forced to float to medical-surgical. There were many stories like that yet their union did not respond.
No one from CNA went to raid another union. If they hadn't chosen CNA they would have tried to change unions anyway
I'm too lazy to type this again.
I think Fergus has it right.
I worked almost twenty years before considering a union. UniHealth bought our facility and began making cuts that harmed our ability to care for our patients.
I worked almost twenty years before considering a union. UniHealth bought our facility and began making cuts that harmed our ability to care for our patients.
So again, why wouldn't the unions want to represent those that want to be represented by them be represented, and those that do not...not be represented. To me, it all boils down to choice.
I am pretty much anti-union, there is little doubt to that, I think that they have had an impact on our country, for the better in the early years, and now their impact is purely self perpetuation.
However, anyone that wishes to join a union may do so, I simply think that those that do not wish to join one, and pay their political hack money dues, should be able to decline union representation deal with management on their own terms.
So again, why wouldn't the unions want to represent those that want to be represented by them be represented, and those that do not...not be represented. To me, it all boils down to choice.
I am pretty much anti-union, there is little doubt to that, I think that they have had an impact on our country, for the better in the early years, and now their impact is purely self perpetuation.
However, anyone that wishes to join a union may do so, I simply think that those that do not wish to join one, and pay their political hack money dues, should be able to decline union representation deal with management on their own terms.
The reason is simple, a union has no power to negotiate if it's an open shop. Plus, I wouldn't be too thrilled for my coworkers to benefit from the dues I pay without contributing (cause you know their wages and such would be exactly what the union negotated... total coincidence I'm sure). Isn't it enough they get the ratios?:) You do have a choice, even if it isn't the ideal one for you.
If you want to work at a non-union hospital, why not do that? There are a lot of hospitals who haven't gone union. One thing I don't understand about people who say they hate California is that there is so much variety here I think that's almost impossible. I have 2 friends working at HOAG. It's non-union and supposedly a nice place. It isn't that far from Pomona. You could commute if you wanted and work in conservative orange county without having to support the evil CNA.
Tell that to the non-union auto-workers and mine workers that make a bundle less than their union counterparts. Tell that to non-union nurses that can be fired on a whim (plenty of posts on this).
Do you mean the dead union miners or the soon to be UNEMPLOYED union auto workers?
And is Ford non union too. Were the other mines in W.Va and PA non union?
I believe unions have outlived their usefulness. And that is why many manufacturing jobs are going overseas or to Mexico.
I know you will say we can't outsource nursing . OH but we can. We can have socialized medicine. Where patient's have to wait for services and we can import nurses. I believe that's being done some places. California for one.
With the continued increases eventually no one will be able to afford to get sick in California. Even with mandated ratio's and increased pay California is still using Travel Nurses. The unions will never be able to create nurses.
One thing the unions can't do is give us every Sunday off ( I have every Sunday off with out a union lol), straight day shifts, protection from infectious diseases, etc.
Comparing manufacturing unions to nursing unions is like comparing apples to oranges.
Care to discuss the abandonment of Air Traffic controllers by the AFL-CIO.. One of the biggest unions.
Also, the unions themselves sold out the coal miners. That was my point.
My union contract gives RNs with 25 years bargaining senority every weekend off, or the nurse gets paid time and one-half. The majority of these nurses are off. The shifts are covered by nurses working the weekender program so the unit is not short staffed. Nephro BSN how are your Sundays off covered?
Nurses working together does work! If you have a union that does not give the nurses the autonomy to resolve their problems it won,t work. I have seen nurses work together under a different union than CNA , and it does work to maintain good standards of care for patients, as well as improve working conditions for nurses.
NurseKevin
140 Posts
Thank you.