I work at a union hospital, I feel that I am paid a fair wage and am happy with my insurance plan and benefits. While I am traditionaly not a pro union person, I do see the need for unions in some situations. My primary gripe with unions is that, in my experience, they promote political issues that I disagree with. One example is the push for an increase in the minimum wage. I don't want to get into a debate about if the minimum wage should or should not be increased, I just want to see if any of you agree or disagree with the opinion I'm about to express.
For the ease of explaining what I'm thinking I'm going to just use arbitrary numbers here. Lets say minimum wage is $5.00/hr and RN pay is $20.00/hr.
The various factors in the economy have determined that an RN makes $20/hr, or that the value of the RN is worth $15 more than than that of an unskilled or minimum wage worker.
I'm thinking that if my union is pushing for the minimum wage to increase to (for example only) $14/hr, then the union should be pushing just as hard for the RN wage to also increase by 50%. If the union does not push for an equal pay increase for the RN's it represents, then isn't it diminishing the value of the RN's education/skills/knowledge. What I'm saying is it seems that to close the gap between an RN's pay and minimum wage, we are effectively earning less or our jobs have been devalued. I'm wondering if this makes sense and if anyone agrees or disagrees and why.
Unlike past politial threads I've commented in, I promise to keep civil. I'm only interested in discussion and getting some of your input.
I partially agree, yes the American people hold some of the blame, but the reason we are that way it's in part due to our government's systematic destruction of our educational system and propaganda aimed at keeping us all dumb.
The "dumbing down" of America is alive and well, and at least in what I have witnessed, started in the late 1990s/early 2000s.
When minimum wage levels are increased, that usually recalibrate all wages upward. So by assisting in the dialogue for minimum wage increases, the Union is also indirectly working to raise the wages of those workers it represents.
Additionally as the minimum wage increases there is more money circulating in the economy and therefore the demands for more goods and services increases which also benefits union members.
Please don't assume that everyone who works at a fast-food franchise, or works as a waitress, etc., is uneducated and lacking skills. Many of those workers do, in fact, have degrees and skills but have lost their jobs for some reason. Maybe their job was sent overseas, or they were laid off and never recovered. My family member has a master's degree, but works as a hostess in a restaurant out of necessity. Many people lost their jobs due to their company folding, and haven't been able to secure employment equal to their education, skills, and experience because of their age. Another family member has a degree in chemical engineering, plus an MBA, plus years of experience, but can't get another engineering job because of his age. Why hire someone who is a few years short of retirement? I just wanted to point out that every minimum wage worker isn't uneducated or hasn't worked hard in their career in the past.
I want to know when it became expected for jobs to pay a wage good enough to live on? These low paying jobs have always been filled by housewives, students, part time workers, retirees, second job workers. The workforce was transient and no one was expected to make a career from their job. Its only in the last two decades that I have heard talk about minimum wage workers needing to make enough money to live on and have benefits.
It is depressing to those who make at or very near the $15 an hour mark, to hear that TPTB want to raise the minimum wage to that level. They wonder why on earth did they waste the time and money to go to school to get a license, then put in all those years to get experience, to not do better than someone who is flipping burgers down the street.
I've been a CNA for three years, have gotten a raise every year, and would have to keep working several more before I got to $15 an hour. Even with my night shift differential, I'm more than a dollar below that. I risk exposure to nasty pathogens and clean up human waste, and I deserve more than the guy making tacos at Taco Bell and I don't apologize for thinking so.
The people who lose their jobs when a minimum wage increase is forced upon the small business owners who employ them and can't afford it won't have more buying power. Let's not forget that,
An hourly rate of $9.32 equates to a weekly pay of $373, monthly pay of $1,615, and an annual salary of $19,386
That means if you have two minimum wage parents in the house, you have equal to almost $20 an hour, or close to $40,000 a year. There is also a lot of supplemental assistance available for families.
That is assuming an intact family. People should make wise choices regarding having children out of wedlock, making certain they can afford it, but there's always divorce too. We all know that life is a messy business, I was poor myself at one time, mostly from my own choices.
Now, housing is more expensive here in WA. For people with low income I've heard there are housing subsidies from the government. Yes, you don't have as much choice as to where you live, but that's one of the rewards of working your butt off to advance yourself.
They raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour in Seattle. I hear it has forced businesses to cut back hours and positions for workers. I'm sure it must decrease the buying power of everyone, I think that's basic economics.
Minimum wage issue aside, yeah I wish the nursing unions would focus their time (and our union dues) on issues that concern their nurse-members.
This is part of the reason I oppose unions. They'll take your money in dues and divert it to political causes that you don't support and don't benefit you, and you can't stop them.
Sorry, I do see that you wrote "negotiate/accept", my brain just got stuck on the word "negotiate" when I posted my response to your comments.
Actually, as a travel nurse I do negotiate my pay rate every few months. I let my agency know whether or not a posted rate is acceptable and ask them to negotiate on my behalf with the hospitals if it is a desirable position with a lower rate. If not negotiable I turn that down and look for a position with an appropriate rate.
(Veering off topic a bit but I wanted to clarify since you came back to this)
I think nursing wages are more impacted by the availability of nurses in a glutted market. It's a large part of the reason a PT can command more than $100/day than an RN with equivalent experience, more responsibilty and better hours in my field. When you've got layers of nurses clamoring for the same job openings, wages and working conditions remain inferior. Change the supply and demand, improve the wages.
LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN
8,429 Posts