The Union Is Coming

[CV_RN_ICU]

I work for a "small town" hospital (that continues to expand)

with a few local smaller branches in surrounding areas.

Recently, a large group of nurses have decided to bring the union in. So naturally management has been frantic to make them disappear. I should note that years and years ago this same thing happened and the outcome was a big fail (obviously).

So far we have been pulled to 90-minute-long anti-union meetings (while at work, on the clock) lead by outsiders no one has ever seen before, stopped by coworkers in management who are anti-union to hear them out, and staffing ratios seem strangely generous lately (which management has recently pointed out as well). Not to mention the union reps coming door-to-door to make sure we vote (annoying I know). All leading up to the big vote approaching in the next few weeks.

Years ago the nurses tried bringing a union in but decided to give management a chance with all of their promises/plans for better changes, and the union was no-more. WELL, nothing changed... in fact it got worse. Staffing ratios are the big topic of discussion, as well as others.

It is all so suffocating!! I don't hate my job but I am sick of telling management what our issues are and what we think may help us and then literally NOTHING happening. I also can't stand hearing the hate-speeches from both sides but I don't wanna be a non-voter. I want to be an INFORMED-voter and I want the whole truth. Patient safety is teetering on the edge of danger and doom with the overwhelming demands on top of poor staffing ratios, but trusting management again is hard. Temporary fixes are more of an insult from them anymore.

I just want to know, what am I going expect if the union gets voted in?

and what are the pros/cons both with and without the union?

Basically, where are we as nurses going to find the most benefits for us (and our patients) between the two opposing sides?

I just don't know WHO to believe anymore lol

[Wuzzie]

I work in a large, academic unionized facility. For the most part other than my monthly dues and the bi-annual contract negotiations I am largely not impacted by it on a day to day basis. However, the biggest plus for me is knowing that I have representation should I need it. This keeps management in check and levels the playing field. The biggest complaints I ever hear (mostly on this site) are "it's impossible to fire a bad union employee" and that the seniority process is "unfair". The first is simply not true it just takes some extra time and documentation and the second is usually from new employees who didn't get the shift/day/vacation/holiday they wanted. After decades in this business and working all types of jobs in all types of hospitals I can honestly say I would have to think long and hard about every working in a non-unionized hospital again.

[SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN]

My husband is in a union, not a nurse though. It's been more good than bad. If the company fires an employee, all the union members vote on whether or not to fight that ruling. In recent years, they have been voting against helping employees who clearly deserved the dismissal. Its helped give the union as a whole more credibility with the company.

I will admit the seniority thing has stunk at times. He was there 6 years before he got day shift. But the pros have far outweighed the cons as the union has kept health ins. costs low among other things

The only union hospital in my city doesn't have the best rep with nurses or patients. But I do think they are needed 100% in the hospitals, the union members just need to make sure there are ways to keep their union officers in check and accountable.

[Emergent, RN]

I work in a unionized facility. They don't do anything about the staffing ratios. They negotiate a contract. We have good wages, but my whole region does generally. I work for another hospital with the same union and the wages are much less there.

I don't think the union can do much about working conditions. There's nothing in our contract that mentions staffing ratios or how many nurses aides there will be for the nurses. The union doesn't have any control over that.

I have seen nurses who should have been fired, retained because of the union. On the other hand I'm sure without a union you would have some annoyances like that.

Management has a bunch of tricks up their sleeves to get around the contract. But, they still seem to have difficulty getting rid of incompetent employees.

Don't expect any utopia created by unions in other words. One big annoyance to me is that a lot of the emails I get from them have to do with their political agenda. I assume to get into leadership within the union one must be a diehard Democrat.

[Wuzzie]

I work in a unionized facility. They don't do anything about the staffing ratios. They negotiate a contract. We have good wages, but my whole region does generally. I work for another hospital with the same union and the wages are much less there.

I don't think the union can do much about working conditions. There's nothing in our contract that mentions staffing ratios or how many nurses aides there will be for the nurses. The union doesn't have any control over that.

I have seen nurses who should have been fired, retained because of the union. On the other hand I'm sure without a union you would have some annoyances like that.

Management has a bunch of tricks up their sleeves to get around the contract. But, they still seem to have difficulty getting rid of incompetent employees.

Don't expect any utopia created by unions in other words. One big annoyance to me is that a lot of the emails I get from them have to do with their political agenda. I assume to get into leadership within the union one must be a diehard Democrat.

My experience with our union has been very different from yours. That's too bad because I think they really do help.

[umbdude, MSN, APRN]

I work in a union hospital. I worked in a professional business field before nursing, and I've also worked in a non-union research hospital. I have never been in a union before and I heard how great it is. Sadly, the nursing union at my hospital has been a disappointment.

The staffing is terrible as RNs (especially ones with seniority) often call out for no reasons with no consequences or mandate requirement. I was pulled out of orientation to take actual patients several times because people called out last minute during a time when the unit acuity was high. Management (non-union nurses) and union nurses work against each other not with each other. I have seen experienced RNs completely ignored new changes that management wanted to implement, and management tried to dump ridiculous added paperwork on us (who are already stretched thin) without training or advanced notice.

I understand that maybe not all union hospitals operate like mine. But I've always worked in environments where management is a part of the team, not a separate entity, and we worked well together. My experience with union has not been positive.

[CV_RN_ICU]

I've been pulled off of orientation multiple nights back-to-back, even in the middle of a shift, to cover other units for a call off and we're not even a union. And I know it's because I have med-surg experience in our hospital so I'm the easiest choice. All I got in return was a cheap meal ticket (for overpriced cafeteria food) and a losing lottery ticket with a "thank you" card. Our staffing ratios on those floors have proven to be dangerous and over half of our nurses are traveling agency nurses because no one wants to stay it seems.

I don't mind seniority, I know how it works and I know how it feels when you bust your ass and don't get any credit because it's "unfair" for the new people to not get the same treatment.

[Wuzzie]

I don't mind seniority, I know how it works and I know how it feels when you bust your ass and don't get any credit because it's "unfair" for the new people to not get the same treatment.

I think this happens in both union and non-union hospitals.

[JKL33]

Years ago the nurses tried bringing a union in but decided to give management a chance with all of their promises/plans for better changes, and the union was no-more. WELL, nothing changed... in fact it got worse.

I won't get into the discussion about pro/anti-union, but "Fool me once...." seems like an apt bit of wisdom.

[MurseJJ]

I work in a unionized academic medical center. We have staffing grids for each unit, which dictate how many RNs and techs we're supposed to have per number of patients on the unit. Changes to the grids are part of our negotiated contracts.

[MyAimIsTrue, BSN]

Do you think hospital management will give you decent regular raises and good patient ratios without being required to do it, per a union contract? They will not.

Mandated ratios? California.

Highest wages? California.

Strongest nursing union in the nation? California.

I would not be entering this field without a strong union behind me.

[Fiona59]

I'm Canadian and have only ever worked in union hospitals. There are few non-union facilities back east.

The thing is the few non-union places in town (ie: health centres) tend to match union wages because they don't want to lose staff. Yet, every nurse who graduates wants a union job.

Just remember unions got you mandatory vacations, statutory holidays, abolished child labour. So you may have a chance of getting some type of staffing ration set up.