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.
Greed, that's the real problem here, the Corporation's greed. Billions in profits and it's never enough. What we have is modern day slavery.
Where do you think your 401k or 403b or pension comes from? We middle class people depend on those greedy people making money so that our retirement investments make enough money so that we can retire before we die at work.
Where do you think your 401k or 403b or pension comes from? We middle class people depend on those greedy people making money so that our retirement investments make enough money so that we can retire before we die at work.
But remember, those greedy people have forced more people to not retire, making a shortage of jobs and an even more stagnant wage increase as well.
Not everyone is doing well or contributing enough with wages being stagnant and less people
retiring...I'm afraid people WILL die at work the way we are headed...
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.
Because in the last 2 decades we've lost many middle class jobs and replaced them with McJobs. That's why.
That said... In some of these places looking at going up to $15, this actually makes me a bit angry. You have college graduates making little more than that. The skilled labor force might expect to make that. I don't want to say any one person (occupation) is actually "better" than another, but I really don't think it's reasonable for someone washing dishes to make the same amount as a person who spent years of their lives and countless thousands of dollars learning a skill, trade, or went to college. Every contributor to society is a vital part of it, but if we are to adjust minimum wage by multiple dollars per hour, wages would be pretty screwed up without looking at higher than minimum wage earners as well. Perhaps this is idealized or naive, and I'm okay with admitting that, but I do think an LPN should get paid much better than a cashier.
And this is why many are re-thinking college these days. Why graduate with tens of thousands in debt to make $40,000 or so a year? Trade school offers much better options. Last month I was offered a new RN job, requiring a BSN, paying $20 an hour. How pathetic is THAT?! At that rate, I should get a $15 McJob and just work more hours to make up the difference. It would be safer and easier. Thankfully, I found another RN job paying $25 an hour, and I'm so thankful for it. (I told the $20 job to take a hike. Professionally, of course!).
Because in the last 2 decades we've lost many middle class jobs and replaced them with McJobs. That's why.
Exactly this. My husband is laid off currently, the manufacturing plant he works for has been shut down for about 3 months, supposedly for renovations with plans to reopen. No word yet on when this reopening will occur, if ever. It's a small plant making a specialized item with maybe 30 employees. Most of them have taken other lower paying jobs already. My husband has been there long enough for decent unemployment that at this point brings home more than minimum wage, but if that runs out before the plant is up and running again he will have to take one of those Mcjobs just to have some income coming in.
Last month I was offered a new RN job, requiring a BSN, paying $20 an hour.
Stuff like this makes me wonder about going beyond LPN. I most likely will, but when I can make 17-18 as a LPN, if RN jobs are going to offer 20....why bother?
Stuff like this makes me wonder about going beyond LPN. I most likely will, but when I can make 17-18 as a LPN, if RN jobs are going to offer 20....why bother?
If you can stay employed as an LPN why bother indeed. I am not sure how employment is in your area, but where I am if an LPN loses a job for whatever reason, getting another one isn't so easy. I live in a border town, and on the Minnesota side it seems at least the LTC have ads in the paper for LPNS pretty often, but the hospitals don't seem to hire many at all.
Hospital schmospital. In my state a LPN can work in school nursing, hospice, home care, private duty, developmentally disabled kids and adults, LTC, LTAC, rehab, assisted living, clinics......
Hospital schmospital. In my state a LPN can work in school nursing, hospice, home care, private duty, developmentally disabled kids and adults, LTC, LTAC, rehab, assisted living, clinics......
Exactly! As long as you are not focused on only acute care, LPN jobs are still out there. No offense toward LPN's meant, my mom was an LPN for 25 years, after that long she would have lost all seniority and taken a cut in pay to go back for her RN, and that was in a hospital. Rather than continue to get hounded to continue her education at no benefit to herself, she opted to retire early.
This is pretty much the same reason I am happy with my ADN, a BSN will cost me more money than I can expect to recoup before I retire. No extra pay for the BSN and I am not interested in the acute care settings that require one.
Well I see my post generated a lot of discussion and interesting comments. I want to touch on the whole greed issue. Many of us look at the CEO types who make millions a year, we may think "they can get by with less" and we label them greedy and selfish. How many people who make minimum wage, those who work beside the RN's in housekeeping or dietary, how many of them look at us and say "those nurses make good money, they could get by with less" and then label us as being greedy. It's all relative to your perspective and situation. Who am I to say that someone doesn't deserve to be paid a certain amount or that they don't need that much money, when looking at those who make more or less than me?
It's clear that capitalism has it's downfalls, there are winners and losers as with all aspects of life. What is the alternative? As I posted earlier, we have the power to change the way things are. There is a lot of blame being tossed around these days, but no one wants to pull themselves away from their TV or video games long enough to actually make change happen. We're too caught up in our selfish lifestyles and content to be armchair politicians screeming what should be done rather than doing what needs to be done. While we still have some freedom left, American citizens need to get off their butts and get involved before we lose the opportunity all together.
Onless someone has anything helpful to add, or suggestions for how the average person can get involved and participate in government, I think this thread is pretty much dead.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
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.
That was fine before the Bush recession...remember the huge loss of full time good paying jobs? Yeah that, where do you suppose those people went back to work...that's right, retail and fast food.
Professionally, of course!).
dudette10, MSN, RN
3,530 Posts
Where do you think your 401k or 403b or pension comes from? We middle class people depend on those greedy people making money so that our retirement investments make enough money so that we can retire before we die at work.