Union

deemalt, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2011

Yay for you!!! You now have rights! Seriously, I have worked for both union and non-union. It was a major difference in pay, resources, staffing,benefits etc. I would be curious to see how the transition goes. Keep us posted and congrats!

RN58186 · Jul 15, 2011

I have always been part of a union. They have been great when I have needed help with my supervisor who tries to pull all sort of swtuff on us. I wouldn't work and not be a part of a union.

heron, ASN, RN · Jul 15, 2011

Note ... you don't work for a union ... you are a member of a union. The union isn't your boss, it's you and your coworkers, theoretically working together to deal as a group with your company's management.

I'm obviously pro-union. Others are not and have some very valid criticisms. If you run a search on the term, you'll find opinions all over the map.

If your place has "just gone union" then the employees had to have voted it in. Was there any information put out, by union or management, in the weeks/months before the vote? Is it an open or closed shop? The information should still be floating around somewhere and would be a place to start hunting down answers.

Unions are supposed to be a way for workers to take responsibility for their own working conditions. Unions primarily negotiate employment contracts (on which their members vote) and work rules. They also are supposed to provide advocacy and support to members in their individual dealings with management.

At least, that's the ideal. There's a lot of room for corruption in union politics. Always follow the money. As a member you have a right to know who is paying whom, how much and why. It's up to the membership to decide if they're getting what they think they're paying for. What the membership has given, the membership can take away. Managers are accountable to their supervisors, the corporation and the shareholders. If they don't meet those expectations, they get fired. The union needs to be accountable to you in the same way.

Don't be surprised if you run into an outside organizer from a national union. Employees involved in the union can still get harassed, fired or physically hurt. Emotions can run high, even to the point of violence. The theory is that an independently paid organizer who doesn't depend on the facility for her/his livelihood can shield employees engaged in organizing from the potential damage of having your boss mad at you.

I don't think anyone can tell you what it'll be like for you at your facility. It all depends on you and your co-workers. If the union was just voted in, I'd be willing to bet that things are still pretty tense between management and staff. Take care of each other.

Rabid Response · Jul 15, 2011

I work for a union hospital, and I am grateful for the benefits that has brought me. That said, I have come to believe that unions are merely a necessary evil. I am not naive enough to think that management really gives a hoot about anything but the bottom line, but I am also not naive enough to believe that the union cares about nurses any more than it needs to in order to perpetuate its own powerful position.

I like the security of knowing that I cannot be fired for some made up offense so management can balance their budget. On the flip side of that, I have to work with several nurses who are so incompetent that they have no right to be working any area of healthcare, much less nursing, and these nincompoops are protected time and time again by the union.

Also, I have to say that despite our fantastic working conditions, excellent pay, etc... our morale is kind of crummy. Nurses complain about every little thing. While nurses other places complain that they are going 12 hours without a break, my coworkers (whose breaks are guaranteed and whose patients are always covered by the break nurse during that time) will complain that they are not allowed to go on break at exactly the time they requested. They get 15 minutes, then 1/2 hour, then 15 minutes. The ones that Always come back late from their breaks are the ones who complain loudest when the break nurse is late giving them their last 15 minutes. No one seems grateful for what we have! My friend has a union job in another field and tells me it is pretty much the same--everyone's a big whiner, and the longer you stay there, the more likely you are do adopt the prevailing attitude. It's a shame.

So I guess I'm grateful for what the union has brought in the way of benefits, but I wish that I didn't so often feel that it was now mostly benefitting the incompetents, the lazy, and the whiners.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2011

I don't work for a union hospital. I know the hospital would do whatever humanly possible to fight the formation of a union at my facility....

I've never worked in a union facility so I can't really speak intelligently about it. My view is jaded by non-healthcare unions. For example, the local public bus drivers are in union. I have over 3 yrs experience in nursing. A city bus driver with 3 years on the job makes approximately twice as much as I do...and they they threaten job aciton when asked to pay more than $zero for their health care coverage. I'm thinking (hoping!) that nurse unions are more reasonable, but it makes me lose some faith in unions.

necc2008 · Jul 17, 2011

Yeah they have been coming to the hospital for a few months, giving us information about it, very aggressive, like care salesman. On my way into work some days they would be standing at the front door with a flyer or something to say,etc. It's a closed shop. Not all of the nurses voted, but those that did, 70% voted for the union. The next step is getting union reps, contracts, so it will be a little while before it happens.