Texas nurses are unionized

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Forgive me if i am late with this but I saw the article and it excited me. I also did a search on here and didnt see anything so I decided to post the article link. It gives me real hope as a future Texas RN.:wink2:

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS69495+29-Mar-2008+PRN20080329

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

The newly-unionized hospital mentioned in the article is in Houston, and this event occurred 7 months ago. In general, nurses in Texas tend to be adamantly opposed to unionization.

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Yeah I saw the date hence my disclaimer. I just thought it was nice and is it the nurses that are opposed to unions or admin ? And if its the nurses do you know why?

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My cousin in CA told me that nurses in TX are not unionized. I knew this already. Being a student at the time, I really didn't care. I just passed my boards and will be working for the union here in NY before moving to Houston so I'm very curious to know the reason and see the differences. Does it REALLY matter, or is it more of a personal thing, if nurses are unionized or not?

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Having worked in both environments, you feel less afraid to speak up for patients and yourself because they can't just fire you without cause like they can in non union buildings. Even if they try you have major recourse and since they already KNOW that you have recourse they don't try alot of silly crap. IE Group One would have been stopped cold in a union bldg. Being from Fl (non union state) I never thought anything of it until I started travel nursing and got a feel for unionized nursing. I love it.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

TX is an "at-will employment" state. This essentially means that the worker can terminate his/her own employment at any time and for any reason. It also means that the employer can terminate the worker's employment at any time and for any reason.

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Yeah so are PA n FL. That's what makes unions great. They trump state laws with their bargaining agreements. At will only benefits companies.

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It sounds like working for a union hospital has more pros than cons. I wish more states had unions, I would look closely at those cities than non-union ones. Hopefully there will be more to choose from in the future.

I would have moved to California or NY without looking back if it wasn't so expensive to live there.

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Specializes in ER,ICU,L+D,OR.
The newly-unionized hospital mentioned in the article is in Houston, and this event occurred 7 months ago. In general, nurses in Texas tend to be adamantly opposed to unionization.

Rightfully so also.

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rightfully so also WHAT! That's my ? Why are TX nurses anti union. I genuinely want to know.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I can only speak for myself.

The primary reward/recognition for unionized workplaces is based on seniority. Doesn't matter how mediocre you are, if you hang in there long enough, you'll have more $ and more influence than younger (possibly more skilled) co-workers. Like the tenure system in academia.

Unions are great at maintaining status quo, but not so good at innovation and improvement. The adversarial atmosphere (labor versus management) is also very off-putting to me.

I want to be rewarded for my own individual efforts and held accountable for my own mistakes. I want to move ahead as fast as I can, not hampered by a lockstep heirarchy.

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Oh OK thanks. Glad to see another point of view.

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