Top 10 Reasons Against Unions

[PICUPNP]

Top ten reasons why we don't want a union

10. the union doesn't write my paycheck.

9. unions would rather cause problems than work together.

8. union scale means the best workers are carrying the worst.

7. the people who want a union really need one.

6. too corrupt.

5. too political, too liberal and too partisan.

4. unions are only about power and money for the ones who run the union.

3. unions are negative about everything but how great they are.

2. I like to work steady.

1. I've got too much self respect.

[Rodman]

Not really... MDs and DDSs in unions probably missed the boat somewhere....

[TriciaJ, RN]

Real simple.. .Nurses in a union become a trade workers. True professionals have control over the direction of their practice. You can cry about your license being "on the line" but really, you are protected by the hospital that you say mistreats you. In the situation of a law suit your malpractice insurance is covered by the hospital and that is the only reason you would be named. An attorney will not come after you if you have no assets to take, such as in the case of the hospital a physician, dentist etc...

Please do more research and check your premises. It's very glib to say that your hospital will protect you. I've seen far too many employers set up their employees and then hang them out to dry. Your lack of accurate information leaves you very vulnerable.

[Anna S, RN]

I remember years ago when I would say there was no nursing shortage, and that the whole thing was a myth, my colleagues and nurses on the web thought I was crazy. Now almost everyone is saying it!

[lindarn]

Nurses cannot control their profession unless there is a group who can exert more power than the hospitals. How are nurses going to find another job if they are not happy, when there are thousands of new grads being churned out who cannot find jobs?

You statements, "find another job if you are unhappy". The nursing glut was a deliberate action to dis-empower the nursing profession.

This list-serve is full of threads by nurses, regarding the abuses by hospitals and nursing homes on a regualar basis. There are literally pages and pages on the subject, you just have to look.

You know very little of the law, if you think that just because you are covered by the hospital insurance, that nurses will not experience repercussions if they are sued. They can be fired by the hospital if they strayed from hospital guidelines, even if the situation is beyond their control, like staffing, they can and are reported to the BON, who can take action against their license. And don't forget, that the hospital attorneys are there to protect the HOSPITALS BEST INTEREST, NOT THE NURSES!

I have worked as Legal Nurse Consultant, and I know what I am talking about. You are right, that an attorney will not go after a nurse if you have no assets. But as I stated, that will not protect you from trumped up charges and allegations by the hospital to the BON, if you are sued, or named in a suit.

The union will provide you with a lawyer who is there to protect YOUR best interests, not the hospital. your own malpractice insurance will also support you if you are sued.

Hospitals being, "run like a business", is the reason that healthcare is in the mess it is in. They are solvent because of the nursing care that is provided by the nurses who you insult and degrade when the ARE TRYING TO TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR PROFESSION!

NURSES make the money for the hospitals, not administration. NURSES are in income generators for the hospitals, not administration. Administrators do not take care of patients, nurses do.

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

Don't accept the job and pay and then complain that it is not enough.. Find another job that pays more or go in to another profession. There hospitals exist and are solvent because of some some very talented people that run them like a business

[Rodman]

I have a litigation background Thank you... It is in the hospitals interest to back the nurse. The nurse, as an employee, is working as the agent of the hospital. "Respondiat Superiore" It is a nice position for the nurse to be in.

[Rodman]

I remember years ago when I would say there was no nursing shortage, and that the whole thing was a myth, my colleagues and nurses on the web thought I was crazy. Now almost everyone is saying it!

You can go to a community college and get an RN... That would tend to inflate numbers entering our profession.

[Rodman]

Nurses are not the income generators.. The MDs that admit patients and perform procedures generate income.

We nurses are too concerned with how many letters we can make up and add to the end of our names. IT's laughable to the MDs and hospital administrators. They will never take us seriously as long as we keep crying victim...

Nurses cannot control their profession unless there is a group who can exert more power than the hospitals. How are nurses going to find another job if they are not happy, when there are thousands of new grads being churned out who cannot find jobs?

You statements, "find another job if you are unhappy". The nursing glut was a deliberate action to dis-empower the nursing profession.

This list-serve is full of threads by nurses, regarding the abuses by hospitals and nursing homes on a regualar basis. There are literally pages and pages on the subject, you just have to look.

You know very little of the law, if you think that just because you are covered by the hospital insurance, that nurses will not experience repercussions if they are sued. They can be fired by the hospital if they strayed from hospital guidelines, even if the situation is beyond their control, like staffing, they can and are reported to the BON, who can take action against their license. And don't forget, that the hospital attorneys are there to protect the HOSPITALS BEST INTEREST, NOT THE NURSES!

I have worked as Legal Nurse Consultant, and I know what I am talking about. You are right, that an attorney will not go after a nurse if you have no assets. But as I stated, that will not protect you from trumped up charges and allegations by the hospital to the BON, if you are sued, or named in a suit.

The union will provide you with a lawyer who is there to protect YOUR best interests, not the hospital. your own malpractice insurance will also support you if you are sued.

Hospitals being, "run like a business", is the reason that healthcare is in the mess it is in. They are solvent because of the nursing care that is provided by the nurses who you insult and degrade when the ARE TRYING TO TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR PROFESSION!

NURSES make the money for the hospitals, not administration. NURSES are in income generators for the hospitals, not administration. Administrators do not take care of patients, nurses do.

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

Don't accept the job and pay and then complain that it is not enough.. Find another job that pays more or go in to another profession. There hospitals exist and are solvent because of some some very talented people that run them like a business

[toomuchbaloney]

I have a litigation background Thank you... It is in the hospitals interest to back the nurse. The nurse, as an employee, is working as the agent of the hospital. "Respondiat Superiore" It is a nice position for the nurse to be in.

I hope that you have your own malpractice insurance because the respondiat superiore has no obligation to you as an employee. In "right to work" states they may sever that relationship at any time and for any reason leaving you without that particular caveat which you presumably believe is your savior should something untoward happen during delivery of your care.

Your comments make you sound very naive about the realities of professional nursing in America.

[Rodman]

My neighbor is a dentist and told me that he had a nurse come into the office with her daughter for third molar extraction. She was a CRNP She made sure to where her white lab coat with name embroidered on it and the typical alphabet soup after the name. She then goes overboard begins to interrogate the dentist about his credentials and his knowledge of medicine. There is nothing wrong with building trust with a practitioner, but he detected that she had an axe to grind.... We try to elevate our status by denigrating others, and it makes our profession look cheap....

[toomuchbaloney]

My neighbor is a dentist and told me that he had a nurse come into the office with her daughter for third molar extraction. She was a CRNP She made sure to where her white lab coat with name embroidered on it and the typical alphabet soup after the name. She then goes overboard begins to interrogate the dentist about his credentials and his knowledge of medicine. There is nothing wrong with building trust with a practitioner, but he detected that she had an axe to grind.... We try to elevate our status by denigrating others, and it makes our profession look cheap....

Are you generalizing about all nurses based upon the conduct of one CRNP who annoyed your DDS neighbor?

[Rodman]

I am an attorney. You should brush up on the law and not rely on what you read on the internet. The hospital cannot "sever" anything including respondiat superiore.

A plaintiff's attorney uses the element of "RS" to hold the hospital or employer responsible for the acts of the employee. It is a de facto element that cannot be vacated by the employer. Having malpractice insurance e actually makes the employee more susceptible to litigation. The attorney will simply take up to the limits of coverage. If the nurse has no personal malpractice coverage it would-be a very rare occurrence to try to seek recovery from him/her.

I hope that you have your own malpractice insurance because the respondiat superiore has no obligation to you as an employee. In "right to work" states they may sever that relationship at any time and for any reason leaving you without that particular caveat which you presumably believe is your savior should something untoward happen during delivery of your care.

Your comments make you sound very naive about the realities of professional nursing in America.

[toomuchbaloney]

I am an attorney. You should brush up on the law and not rely on what you read on the internet. The hospital cannot "sever" anything including respondiat superiore.

A plaintiff's attorney uses the element of "RS" to hold the hospital or employer responsible for the acts of the employee. It is a de facto element that cannot be vacated by the employer. Having malpractice insurance e actually makes the employee more susceptible to litigation. The attorney will simply take up to the limits of coverage. If the nurse has no personal malpractice coverage it would-be a very rare occurrence to try to seek recovery from him/her.

Are you also a nurse?

Then you understand that if you are caring for a patient who is harmed or killed in the course of your work you will likely be fired. The hospital will have to assume responsibility for whatever happened to THEIR patient while under the care of THEIR employees. The hospital may also, besides termninating your employment, report you to the BON and cause you to lose your license and livelihood. The hospital will not support you legally. They will not argue in your defense. They will not provide legal counsel for you. If you have no malpractice insurance in such an instance you may just not only lose your job, and your livelihood, you may also lose your home and your savings.

Yes, the hospital as superior respondant has deeper pockets but the litigation is often about more than just how much $$ the victims can get. It is often about the victim feeling that they have achieved a measure of justice and that involves also pursuing the individual nurse or employee that was involved in the incident.