Union

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Do unions really help nurses or hurt them. I've heard many good and bad things about unions. Such as, unions helping nurses to get better pt ratio's and good cost of living raises. But on the hand, many say that union just take their money.

I always hear about unions out west and up north, but never down south. Why is that?

Thanks

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

The union does take my money, but I pay nothing for health benefits or life insurance, which almost evens it out. The contract spells out the hours I can work, benefits, vacation, floating, seniority, grievance/discipline/suspension, n/p ratio, in addition to other things. The hospital must follow the contract, just as we must fulfill our end of it. I used to work for a non-union hospital, and a lot of those things were abused, because they were never spelled out. They called SC a "right-to-work" state. (No idea what that meant)

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Well I find my union dues very modest.

For them I get.

* Professional indemnity insurance.

* Free access to nursing journals online.

* A nursing library.

* Workcover top up insurance.

* Subsidised education and training.

* Can bank with the police credit union.(No bank fees)

* Bulk billed at the union clinic.

* DIscounted house and car insurance.

Amongst others.

As well as the standard representation in disputes and negotiating of workplace agreements and advocacy in the political sphere

So yeah I think it's a good thing.

Levin

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Also the fact that we have the subsidised education and access to nursing journals, i think has benefits for patients and the wider health system as well. Levin

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Right to work equals right to work for less....

As for me I am a union man...

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I always hear about unions out west and up north, but never down south. Why is that?

Remember your Civil War history? That kind of thinking has not changed much in the south. The Good Ole Boys still rule in the south and they are greedy. They legislate the states to protect employers at all costs while killing the employees and the "little guys" in business.

There is still a general sense among the politicians (today's gentry) that women should be seen and not heard. Women only work outside of the home now days because of economics (read that as the good ole boys need extra money to feed their beer bellies). If the Good Ole Boys had their druthers - women in the south would still be pregnant all the time, staying at home, and wearing a strand of pearls to serve their husbands dinner.

Since 99% of nurses are women - there isn't a lot of fighting to fix things. Women are too tired to fight that hard since they work outside the home plus have to take care of the kids and the house because real southern men don't help with that. Trying to get unions into the south by fighting the laws is about as easy as it was for women to be allowed to vote and for segregation to end. My guess is that we need nursing to become at least 50% male before we will ever see wide sweeping changes.

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Specializes in ER.

i wish i could have a union in my workplace. i came from a career in carpentry where i worked both union and non union. i would any day prefer to work in a union workplace. its safer, more secure, better paying and with better benefits.

one thing against today's unions that i will admit and fight against is their over-readiness to cooperate with management. i think there is another thread about the mandatory california health care insurance bill on allnurses that mentions seiu's support of this corporate handout.

what started unions was simply the need for employees to meet together and have a voice in the running of the workplace. if nurses were more able to determine the functioning of today's hospitals i believe there would be better patient care and better working conditions. management meets daily to determine these things from thier own side. i dont see why the actual people providing care shouldnt do the same.

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Do unions really help nurses or hurt them. I've heard many good and bad things about unions. Such as, unions helping nurses to get better pt ratio's and good cost of living raises. But on the hand, many say that union just take their money.

I always hear about unions out west and up north, but never down south. Why is that?

Thanks

Allow me to be the first to recommend you do a search on this website. At least in the past, this topic rivals the ADN v. BSN debate for some. And there is a ton of threads on the topic. The short answer is that unions help some, but not others, and if hospitals treated nurses as they deserve, unions would be useless.

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Remember your Civil War history? That kind of thinking has not changed much in the south. The Good Ole Boys still rule in the south and they are greedy. They legislate the states to protect employers at all costs while killing the employees and the "little guys" in business.

There is still a general sense among the politicians (today's gentry) that women should be seen and not heard. Women only work outside of the home now days because of economics (read that as the good ole boys need extra money to feed their beer bellies). If the Good Ole Boys had their druthers - women in the south would still be pregnant all the time, staying at home, and wearing a strand of pearls to serve their husbands dinner.

Since 99% of nurses are women - there isn't a lot of fighting to fix things. Women are too tired to fight that hard since they work outside the home plus have to take care of the kids and the house because real southern men don't help with that. Trying to get unions into the south by fighting the laws is about as easy as it was for women to be allowed to vote and for segregation to end. My guess is that we need nursing to become at least 50% male before we will ever see wide sweeping changes.

My. What's it like having a mind operate in stereotypes? Where do I start?

In the first place, 94% of nurses are women. Not 99%. Not a huge difference, but it makes me wonder where you get your information.

"Real southern men don't help with housework"? Where do you come up with crap like that? I do. Even here in North Carolina. And lots and lots of men I know do the same thing. We don't think it's a big deal. We just do it.

And equating unionization with women suffrage and ending segregation? What an insult to the suffragettes and African-Americans. This just in -- it's legal to establish a union. Anywhere. Nobody's using firehoses on nurses who seek to unionize. People who don't do it shouldn't whine. They should just do it. It's easy to make excuses. Getting something accomplished is what counts.

And the amazing thing is saying that nursing needs to become 50% male before we see changes. What a slap in the face of the 94% of nurses who are women. I'm a man, and I work with competent, skilled professional female nurses all the time, and I don't somehow imagine myself as the great hope of the nursing profession.

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Specializes in icu/er.

i think if a strong nursing union would come and try to set up shop around this area in mississippi they'll face strong opposition from all the hospitals in the state, "since there are no nursing unions here". but i believe if they can get their points across and the nurses are'nt threaten by admin. of lossing their jobs, that they might be able to obtain a foothole. i swear if a union set up shop in just one hospital here in mississippi it would spread like a wild fire throught the whole state. to tell you the truth, this is how scared the hospital admin is of unions, here at my fulltime job and at my part-time gigs, if you are heard talking any union type info. it can be a firing offence, a firing offence for just talking about union stuff, give me a break.

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Remember your Civil War history? That kind of thinking has not changed much in the south. The Good Ole Boys still rule in the south and they are greedy. They legislate the states to protect employers at all costs while killing the employees and the "little guys" in business.

There is still a general sense among the politicians (today's gentry) that women should be seen and not heard. Women only work outside of the home now days because of economics (read that as the good ole boys need extra money to feed their beer bellies). If the Good Ole Boys had their druthers - women in the south would still be pregnant all the time, staying at home, and wearing a strand of pearls to serve their husbands dinner.

Since 99% of nurses are women - there isn't a lot of fighting to fix things. Women are too tired to fight that hard since they work outside the home plus have to take care of the kids and the house because real southern men don't help with that. Trying to get unions into the south by fighting the laws is about as easy as it was for women to be allowed to vote and for segregation to end. My guess is that we need nursing to become at least 50% male before we will ever see wide sweeping changes.

Amen, Amen, Amen! (And that's kind of a pun on "men", isn't it? ha) Anyway, great post. I do believe nursing needs an infusion of men, stat. Although the title of "nurse" could probably do with some changing, but that's another issue...

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Specializes in ICU/ER/TRANSPORT.
i think if a strong nursing union would come and try to set up shop around this area in mississippi they'll face strong opposition from all the hospitals in the state, "since there are no nursing unions here". but i believe if they can get their points across and the nurses are'nt threaten by admin. of lossing their jobs, that they might be able to obtain a foothole. i swear if a union set up shop in just one hospital here in mississippi it would spread like a wild fire throught the whole state. to tell you the truth, this is how scared the hospital admin is of unions, here at my fulltime job and at my part-time gigs, if you are heard talking any union type info. it can be a firing offence, a firing offence for just talking about union stuff, give me a break.

rn1980, a union rep came to talk to the nurses at baptist in columbus around 2003. the hospital really tried to bust it all up, even the head ceo from tn came down a few times. a pal of mine said the hospital told the nurses that they'll improve staffing and add techs, even administration came around at different hrs with snack carts and stuff for the staff everyday. well a majority of the nurses did'nt vote for the union, many later said they were threatened with job loss. but after the union people left, staffing went back to zilch and no more snacks, i bet now they wish they would've voted for it, cause i hear morale stinks there now. of course i get this info from people that i know who work there.

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