Travel nursing vs. Strike nursing

Cali · Jan 15, 2013

What exactly would you like to know? I'm a travel nurse (Tele) and I just did my first strike in November with Healthsource Global. I liked the ease of the application process for them. You can nominate yourself for a strike with just one 'click'. I nominated myself for the strike and about 2 days later they emailed me the flight itinerary. They arrange everything, all you have to do is show up. I only use them for strikes. I do my travel nursing with another company. I called them once to check out possible travel opportunities but they didn't seem to have much going on. I had a great experience doing the strike with them though. Do you have any specific question or were you just looking for general info? Oh, I will say...one of the ICU nurses was asking about specialty pay but she was told everyone would be getting the same rate. We all got paid $50/hr no matter where we worked.

NedRN · Jan 16, 2013

Watch em like a hawk. For reasons that should be self evident, strike companies have issues with ethics. If that is not self evident, google the felony convictions of the owners.

There are other reasons not to work strikes. Miss out on a travel assignment waiting for a three day strike that cancels and you are out a lot of money. Unless you luck into a long term strike, the tortoise traveler always wins over the hare. Slow and steady makes you rich.

As the other poster said, not much point in relying on HSG for travel assignments. The occasional strike if the timing is good, well up to you. But watch em like a hawk I say and think of better ways to earn a living other than a scab.

Chesire999 · Jan 16, 2013

But watch em like a hawk I say and think of better ways to earn a living other than a scab.

Pffft, somebody's got to take care of the patients. The nurse's that are striking have one concern, their reimbursements (pay, benefits, ets), so what makes them better than the "scabs"? Besides, the longer the hospitals have to pay high agency strike wages, the sooner they will settle. This has been going on for centuries. Its not like they can send the patients home and close down, it isn't your Grandpa's steel mill, SOMEBODY has to take care of the patients!

NedRN · Jan 16, 2013

What happens to the patients that you abandoned to work the strike?

BluntForceTrauma · Jan 17, 2013

So you walk out and expect the patients to care for themselves??

rn_abbey · Jan 17, 2013

What happens to the patients that you abandoned to work the strike?

Hardly the same situation. One might currently not have a job before they work the strike.

NedRN · Jan 17, 2013

Still takes a nurse out of action. Hardly worth belaboring this particular point as there are so many other good reasons not to work a strike. There are very few hospitals located in areas where patients cannot be transferred easily and safely to other hospitals. Doing so is not really a patient safety issue, it is a business issue. A hospital that has to move patients (all will slow down admissions and elective surgeries prior to a strike - notice is required before strikes universally) will suffer a huge and possibly permanent loss of business as doctors take their business to a more stable hospital, and patients and families worry about care in a troubled working environment. Administration will go to any lengths to avoid such a scenario, and in the absence of scabs, would have to negotiate in good faith with the nurse's union, thus avoiding any strike. Not that it matters, but the issue in most modern strikes is usually patient care, not money for nurses directly. But it usually involves full staffing, which certainly does cost the hospital money and employs more nurses.

For scabs or "replacement workers" as they may prefer, it is ALL about the money. Any other reason is just a rationalization. Period. Just admit it and I can live with that. I myself have gone on three actions myself. My motivations and rationalizations are very different from most though. One, I was curious, mostly about the incredible logistics of staffing a strike. Two, I wasn't working, and all three times they were places I wanted to do an extended visit - and the free travel was enticing. Yes, bogus rationalization - it was about the "free" trip that of course I could have easily afforded on my own. Other than that, it wasn't about the money really - I make more than strike pay on normal assignments as I am independent and get the entire bill rate.

The last caveat to strikes in my opinion is that most strikes are of the 1-3-5 day only variety. These are not real strikes in my opinion, but negotiating ploys. So I didn't feel like I was really hurting fellow nurses. Even that is a bit of BS because if hospitals could not even arrange temp staffing for these short strikes, they wouldn't allow them to happen. But the intent of the unions is not to shut the hospital down, just a crack of the whip as a negotiating tool. At least I'm aware of my own rationalizations for doing something bad!

What I learned at these short strikes that I attended is that the majority of strike workers have full time jobs, and schedule a few days off. Their biggest issue is often getting the first flight out so they can work their scheduled shift at home. Some first timers, like me, are curious about what goes on. Most strike workers (and probably travelers in general) are from the South where pay is really bad. So even a couple thousand dollars from a short strike is really helpful for their family finances. The interesting part of the geography is that the South does not have much in the way of union traditions (part of why pay is so low in the South). Thus they have no idea of the harm they do, in fact many Southerners are indoctrinated to be anti-union as sort of a religion, no reason needed other than everyone else is anti-union. The facts of the matter is that Americans enjoy a middle class life almost solely through the efforts of unions. It is pretty hard to dispute that with any objective reading of history. Yes, they can sometimes accumulate too much power and power swings back and forth between management and workers. Too much power is not good for anyone. But the hard fought battles of unions in the past is what gives us our lifestyle today, but can all too easily dissipate.

For nurses, it is easy to see what California unions have brought to the table. Safe staffing ratios that are proven to save lives (and even reduce costs to hospitals), and a living wage in high cost areas. Hospitals are booking record profits, so it is difficult to see that unions have overstepped their bounds.

Personal choices of course to work strikes, but in no way does it help fellow nurses or patients. It is all about the money.

wanderlust99 · Jan 19, 2013

The money doesn't seem that great to me. 50/hr doesn't seem like enough, are you working strikes in CA?

icunurse42066 · Jan 26, 2013

Still takes a nurse out of action. Hardly worth belaboring this particular point as there are so many other good reasons not to work a strike. There are very few hospitals located in areas where patients cannot be transferred easily and safely to other hospitals. Doing so is not really a patient safety issue, it is a business issue. A hospital that has to move patients (all will slow down admissions and elective surgeries prior to a strike - notice is required before strikes universally) will suffer a huge and possibly permanent loss of business as doctors take their business to a more stable hospital, and patients and families worry about care in a troubled working environment. Administration will go to any lengths to avoid such a scenario, and in the absence of scabs, would have to negotiate in good faith with the nurse's union, thus avoiding any strike. Not that it matters, but the issue in most modern strikes is usually patient care, not money for nurses directly. But it usually involves full staffing, which certainly does cost the hospital money and employs more nurses.
For scabs or "replacement workers" as they may prefer, it is ALL about the money. Any other reason is just a rationalization. Period. Just admit it and I can live with that. I myself have gone on three actions myself. My motivations and rationalizations are very different from most though. One, I was curious, mostly about the incredible logistics of staffing a strike. Two, I wasn't working, and all three times they were places I wanted to do an extended visit - and the free travel was enticing. Yes, bogus rationalization - it was about the "free" trip that of course I could have easily afforded on my own. Other than that, it wasn't about the money really - I make more than strike pay on normal assignments as I am independent and get the entire bill rate.
The last caveat to strikes in my opinion is that most strikes are of the 1-3-5 day only variety. These are not real strikes in my opinion, but negotiating ploys. So I didn't feel like I was really hurting fellow nurses. Even that is a bit of BS because if hospitals could not even arrange temp staffing for these short strikes, they wouldn't allow them to happen. But the intent of the unions is not to shut the hospital down, just a crack of the whip as a negotiating tool. At least I'm aware of my own rationalizations for doing something bad!
What I learned at these short strikes that I attended is that the majority of strike workers have full time jobs, and schedule a few days off. Their biggest issue is often getting the first flight out so they can work their scheduled shift at home. Some first timers, like me, are curious about what goes on. Most strike workers (and probably travelers in general) are from the South where pay is really bad. So even a couple thousand dollars from a short strike is really helpful for their family finances. The interesting part of the geography is that the South does not have much in the way of union traditions (part of why pay is so low in the South). Thus they have no idea of the harm they do, in fact many Southerners are indoctrinated to be anti-union as sort of a religion, no reason needed other than everyone else is anti-union. The facts of the matter is that Americans enjoy a middle class life almost solely through the efforts of unions. It is pretty hard to dispute that with any objective reading of history. Yes, they can sometimes accumulate too much power and power swings back and forth between management and workers. Too much power is not good for anyone. But the hard fought battles of unions in the past is what gives us our lifestyle today, but can all too easily dissipate.
For nurses, it is easy to see what California unions have brought to the table. Safe staffing ratios that are proven to save lives (and even reduce costs to hospitals), and a living wage in high cost areas. Hospitals are booking record profits, so it is difficult to see that unions have overstepped their bounds.
Personal choices of course to work strikes, but in no way does it help fellow nurses or patients. It is all about the money.

That is a very bad generalization of southern people!! I am from the south, born and raised, and my family and my wife's family were and still are union!! I will admit it, if I were to ever work a strike, it will be for the money, but at the same time, those patients need to be taken care of, and just because I am there for the money doesn't mean I don't are about the patients!!!

NedRN · Jan 28, 2013

I have zero doubt that you are a professional and will care for your patients. But you have a choice of which patients you care for.

azariasRN · Mar 25, 2013

Your argument is interesting. For myself, I work strikes for a few reasons; 1) the area of the US I live in has a lower cost of living, so working a strike does present a nice influx of funds, 2) it presents an opportunity to see how things are done differently from one region of the US to the next, and 3) it helps me stay in practice of being able to travel on short notice as I am an Army Reserve Nurse. Personally, I have encountered several nurses who work as PRN, local agency or registry which affords us the opportunity to travel since we have extremely flexible work schedules. And as far as the generalization regarding southern nurses are paid horribly, one must look at the cost of living for an area before claims for pay is "really bad". Also, before one claims that anti-union sentiments are close to religious doctrine, one must note that there are segments of the workforce that are unionized, such as maintenance, electrical, etc that are unionized in the south despite have "Right to Work" legislation on the books empowering employers to let go of employees without a probable cause. Additionally, several northern states, such as Michigan, have recently adopted similar "Right to Work" legislation, such generalizations no longer southern exclusive. Personally, if I'm not happy in my work environment, I relocate to one that I am happy at rather than try and change the upper management's business practices. Remember, this is a business. If the consumer doesn't like the product, or the hospital, they can take their business elsewhere. But let's be clear, in order for nurses to walk their picket lines, someone qualified must be brought in to permit union nurses to fight the good fight. Otherwise, hospitals close, patient care is delayed and people die. It's a simple as that.