Texas RNs are to be enlighten

CSLee3, ASN, BSN, LVN, EMT-P · Jun 7, 2006

TEXAS ROCKS......Where else can you have beaches, mountains, deserts,Lakes, swaps, pine forrests and plainsland all in one state, not to mention driving two days and still being in the same state! Texas is the ONLY state that can fly the state flag equal in height to the US flag, not below it like other states. (Texas being a former Republic) Texas is the only state capable of sustaining life...yes, life with NO assistance, imported food, products, oil, agriculture etc...There is pobably an area of Texas able to satisfy every person, well maybe not everybody! God Bless the Lone Star State!

Rock on nurses...

Sheri257 · Jun 7, 2006

I would much rather live like a king here or in Austin than have an extra couple of bucks an hour and live like a pauper in California. Have you seen the price of housing there? It's Ridiculous!

Well ... it's all relative. I bought my house for $150K in California three years ago and now it's worth double that. And, besides sitting on an extra $150K in home equity, I'll be making $80K a year base salary as a new grad in, yes, a union job. And, btw, I would not be making that salary with a non-union job.

So no ... I'm not living like a pauper even though I live in California. Now, if I had paid $500,000 for a box in San Francisco then it would be a completely different story. California certainly can have disadvantages but, you can also do very well if you're smart about it.

IMHO, no matter where you decide to move to or where you live, it's not so much the state but what particular area you're talking about and whether you get into an area with lots of upswing potential. What we did was research up and coming boom towns that were still cheap but, also had a lot of potential for job growth and, also, was in commuting distance of good paying jobs. That's how we came out ahead.

IMHO, that's what makes the difference regardless of what state you're in. Pay, housing costs, etc. can vary widely from town to town. Although looking at non-union versus union jobs in my area, the pay and benefits are definitely better with union jobs. The national stats also confirm this. On average, union workers make anywhere from $6,000 to $9,000 more, which certainly helps. I know I wouldn't make as much money without union pay, that's for sure.

:typing

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Jun 7, 2006

I know I wouldn't make as much money without union pay, that's for sure.

Don't tell that to the nurses at Scripps Encinitas that just spent 2.5 yrs negotiating through CNA to get paid. . .

The same amount as non-union Scripps nurses in the same county.

~faith,

Timothy.

Sheri257 · Jun 7, 2006

Don't tell that to the nurses at Scripps Encinitas that just spent 2.5 yrs negotiating through CNA to get paid. . .
The same amount as non-union Scripps nurses in the same county.
~faith,
Timothy.

You can always pick out one or two union facilities that don't do that well, and fall outside the norm. Scripps had a lot of turmoil with the union, and that was only their first contract. I didn't expect them to do well with everything that was happening there.

But if you look at Kaiser, for example, where they've been union for years ... the pay and benefits far exceed non-union facilities. People are dying to work there because of it.

Look: if Texas RN's don't want to go union, that's fine. All I'm saying is I will do a hellava lot better with union jobs in California. No question about it. I will never make the same money and benefits with non-union jobs. Feel free to call the hospitals yourself. You'll see that the difference is substantial.

:typing

sunnyjohn · Jun 7, 2006

I'm not a native Texan, but I LOVE THE STATE!

I have no problems with unions as long as they don't get encumbered with stupid rules and regulations.

Any union looking to get a foothold in Texas needs to make DFW and Group One its first target. the they shined the light on the evil that is Group One they might make headway.

Sheri257 · Jun 8, 2006

Not likely. It's just the wrong area of the country for unions to thrive.
Texans are already 'enlightened' on their view of unions. Unions have their place. I doubt very seriously that Texas is that place.
~faith,
Timothy.

Actually, I agree with you on this one. Unions typically do really well for their membership if they have support from 65 percent or more of the RN's, not just a majority. If the RN's are united then they do get big pay raises and benefits. But, if they're not, then it typically doesn't happen.

Since so many Texas RN's are anti-union, there's probably going to be a lot of dissention in the ranks (like what we saw at Scripps) and you're not going to get a good contract when that happens. I have seen RN's get big pay raises on their first union contract, but only when there was a lot of union support. If there's a lot of infighting (which is likely in Texas) then it probably won't happen.

:typing

SEOBowhntr · Jun 8, 2006

Unions are not just a matter of pay scales.

AMEN!!!!

Unions are about having someone who will support you when you think you've been wronged. About having someone to go to because you're questioning a policy, about having someone on your side negotiate a benefits package. (Currently a stock-boy at Wal-Mart has a better benefits package than I do as a nurse, and I know that because one of my co-workers and her husband went with his healthcare package after looking at both of them side-by-side.)

Unions aren't ONLY about $$$$$$, they are about uniting nurses so that nurses as a group have a voice, very similar to the PHYSICIANS, who will band together and buck a system. Most of my friends who work for Unionized hospitals make on average $8-10 more on the hour, have better retirement programs, and better benefits packages, plus they have a voice when any issue arises with their management. Can you imagine a new-grad staff nurse winning an argument with a Director of Nursing in a non-union facility????? I DON'T THINK SO!!!! Don't get me wrong, they have their drawbacks too, including the fact that they will often times protect people who don't deserve the protection, but with all good comes bad.

azhiker96, BSN, RN · Jun 8, 2006

Can you imagine a new-grad staff nurse winning an argument with a Director of Nursing in a non-union facility????? I DON'T THINK SO!!!!

I would hope winning the argument depends more on what is right than the presence/absence of a union. I'm still in nursing school but work as a tech in a hospital. If I had an issue, I'd bring it up with my CM. If she blew me off and I still thought I was right, I'd take it to the Senior CM. I doubt I'd need to go further but if so I'd be happy to send a detailed letter to the correct department such as risk management. If they blew it off and it were a serious patient safety issue, there's always oversight committees and agencies who live to investigate complaints.

I'm sure there are many examples that folks can post where this did/didn't work in a union/non-union facility. And I'll admit that a more timid person wouldn't raise the issue or might accept the first failure. A good shop steward or non-union mentor would be helpful in that instance.

I'm not totally against unions. They have done some very good things in many industries. It's just my personal experience has found them to be constraining. Years ago I shared an apartment with a union roofer. We were both out of work and my parents offered to hire us to re-roof their clinic. My roommate couldn't help out because it was not a union job and he could be fined by the union if they caught him. He felt the benefits of a union outweighed the restrictions. Good for him. I was a bit peeved though when he moved out without paying his share of the bills because he was broke but that's not as union thing. It was a lack of integrity thing.

SEOBowhntr · Jun 8, 2006

I would hope winning the argument depends more on what is right than the presence/absence of a union. I'm still in nursing school but work as a tech in a hospital. If I had an issue, I'd bring it up with my CM. If she blew me off and I still thought I was right, I'd take it to the Senior CM. I doubt I'd need to go further but if so I'd be happy to send a detailed letter to the correct department such as risk management. If they blew it off and it were a serious patient safety issue, there's always oversight committees and agencies who live to investigate complaints.

And this my friend is where you will find out, often times, many things are swept under rugs and forgotten about, esp. when someone who is a brown-noser or is in management makes an error or even breaks the law. Sadly, I know a 2 incidents personally where the law was broken, patients had bad outcomes and our ethics committee AND risk management looked the OTHER WAY.