Unionized vs Non Unionized hospitals

PMFB-RN, RN · May 14, 2014

My comment on the Michigan SEIU story was to give an example of what I see as a negative aspect of unions. That negative aspect being in the political influence a union can have. If I understand the story correctly, a law had been passed that forced people who stayed home to care for loved ones to pay union dues, which came out of their loved one's benefits.

Without a doubt the example you gave is appalling and disgusting to all of us. I think I speak for just about everybody when I say I hope those responsible are held accountable.

perceive, and maybe I'm wrong, that in nursing there is a definite leaning toward the left of the political spectrum.

You are right. It is normal. The more educated a group of people is the more progressive they tend to be. This is well established.

My observation has been that with the liberal mindset in general comes a view that unions are nothing but good.

Seriously? I don't know anyone with critical thinking skills who can not recognize a bad apple in the barrel. Even if one understands that unions are in general a good and beneficial thing, they should be, and are, able to recognize when abuse is taking place.

Kaley1 · May 14, 2014

No need to apologize, you have your views, other people have theirs. Your heightened defensiveness, and your recurring use of the terms liberal and progressive with a negative connotation made me feel like you really wanted to argue the point and were trying to get someone to bite. If I was wrong, I was wrong.

As far as unions go, I think I would prefer to work in a union hospital for the sake of patient safety and my license. I saw far too many unsafe situations during my clinical rotations, and most of them could have been alleviated with proper staffing. Waste should always be controlled, but profit motivation should never be a reason to skimp on a patient's safety. Reading PMFB's post, what I heard was someone who just wanted to be allowed to do their job safely and without any other unnecessary issues like religion or politics interfering with things.

My ideal political philosophy is libertarian btw, but I acknowledge that the system is rigged so I do not begrudge people on the lower end taking measures to try and correct the current imbalance for themselves.

allnurses Guide · May 15, 2014

Selected sections of an editorial by a 37 year RN

What a strong union can do for your nurses-and you
A world without nurses would be a dismal place indeed. Nurses do many things for us, not the least of which is to care greatly for the health and well being of humankind.
Nursing is a job, but it is so much more. It is a calling that is deeply rooted in the soul of a good and caring nurse.
I have been a nurse and answered this calling for the last 37 years. I work in an ICU in an acute care hospital, and have seen many changes impacting my chosen profession over these past years. Some of these change have been for the better.
Recently, many of these changes have been detrimental to my profession and the care I am able to provide my patients. So it is appropriate I tell the story of these changes, and how nurses are able to fight back for their practice and their patients. The public has the right to know why the care they receive in an acute care setting has changed so dramatically.
And they need to know of my strong, fight-back union, that objects to the negative changes that are being demanded by health care systems here, and all across our nation...
... In our society the corporate agenda outweighs human and societal needs. In health care the last line of defense for safe patient care is your nurse. For nurses the protection of patients and nursing practice is a difficult lift in the ever expanding corporate model, now firmly entrenched in health care delivery. That model puts profits before patients.
There is a ray of hope however, and that hope lies in the work being done by the California Nurses Association (CNA), a nursing professional organization and a bedside nurses' union. The CNA is a union which fights for patients, and the bedside practitioner (RN) who is tasked with the safe care of the sick.
The CNA is an activist union, and depends on the engagement of the bedside RNs who are represented in collective bargaining by CNA. But the CNA is so much more than a "contract." CNA resources include nursing practice education, health care research and trending, communication, government relations, legislative action for introduction of bills that support and enhance safe patient care ... such as the California Nurse to Patient Ratio Law...
... Why have the nurses in Eureka elected to be a part of the CNA? Health care delivery is rapidly changing. New health care financing schemes, treating human lives as a commodity, results in restructuring on steroids, which drives the de-skilling, fragmentation, routinization, robotization and standardization of RN work. With these changes the work of the RN is less than satisfying. The substitution of technology for care is virtual care; it is not real. It is designed to enhance profit, and billing, and it is a concept that is morally indefensible. Corporate money turns the heads of elected officials away from the advocacy work nurses do on behalf of their patients and their profession. Nurses are truly standing in the gap between patients and those who roll the dice with their lives....
... The CNA/NNU supports and enhances the nurses' ability to hold our employers accountable for safe, therapeutic, effective patient care and nursing practice....
http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/ci_25763660/what-strong-union-can-do-your-nurses-mdash

BillyTheKind · Jun 2, 2014

Non Union is way better, I have worked in both and I have found that the union nurses are lazy and they DONT start out that way. They get used to something for nothing and having some bully (the union) force issues and changes on the hospital. They like getting away with everything and patient care goes down. Stay away, it will ruin you like unions are ruining the world. They started out with a great idea but like so many things have been perverted into something useless and harmful.

Mindful, RN · Jun 2, 2014

... move on fella

BillyTheKind · Jun 4, 2014

... move on fella

Lol, must be a union person

PMFB-RN, RN · Jun 4, 2014

Lol, must be a union person.

Its obvious who the person is.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2014

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toomuchbaloney · Jun 13, 2014

the presence of "bad" employees in a hospital or other unionized facilities is testimony to the "bad" leadership and managment. They are responsible for the supervision of staff. It is easier for a bad or lazy manager to avoid the conflict and simply blame it on the union.

TriciaJ, RN · Jun 14, 2014

I am traditionaly a non union person, I hate the whole liberal/progressive, union mindset. I am for free markets and limited government. I have worked for many non union facilities as well as union facilities. I have, however come to believe that as far as nursing is concerned, being unionized is a better way to go. Too often I have heard horror stories from my coworkers and friends about being treated unfairly either because management was misinformed of or failed to follow facility rules/policies. Also there seems to be a number of things that happen simply because a nurse, regardless of his/her skill and job performance, is disliked. In these non union facilities management often can and will do whatever they want with their staff. The presence of a union ensures some level of security for the employee, that he/she will be treated fairly and rules will be followed. Now granted it kills me to say this but I do feel a bit more job security working in a union facility. I know that in a perfect world, with people behaving professionally, there would be no need for a union. I appreciate the protection I get from the union but am embarassed by the political posiitions they take. I'm all for finding a better solution but one hasn't presented itself.

Yes, the political positions are definitely a turn-off for many people. But unions definitely limit how much crap a nurse has to take lying down.

TriciaJ, RN · Jun 14, 2014

Has anyone read about the SEIU in Michigan and Home Healthcare Workers? Perfectly illustrates a major reason I hate unions.

SEIU does not have the best track record for honest dealing. Organizations like this give unions a bad rap. I currently work in an SEIU shop. While they have their merits, I chose to pay fair-share than actually join. And I am a dyed-in-the-wool union person.

SoCal__Rn · May 30, 2017

If you want to join an evil organization that has had a good idea perverted than defiantly join a union. You won't have to work much, you can be lazy, make mistakes, generally lower your standards overall, be known as a member of a buying organization and looked down on by management and many other peers.
If you want to be your own person and maintain your own responsibility than non-union. I left a hospital because unions were being let in the door. I have had too much experience with the ugly organizations. At their inception they were a good idea but like so many things they have been perverted over time.

Sorry to hear ur bad experience.

Buy why the Blanket statement?

As we all know:

NOT ALL Nurses, Doctors, Hospitals, Cops & Judges are created equal, NOT even your own family members are created equal.

Do you see the pattern here?

Do you see the point that im trying to make?

& certainly NOT ALL Unions are created equal.

Pls no blanket statements.

Such statements will just make you sound narrow minded & ignorant (no disrespect)

Yes, there are AWFUL Unions out there, but dont forget there are also WONDERFUL unions out there too.

Some of these AWSOME unions organized to pass patient-to-nurse safety ratios (like in CA)

CA ICU by law are STRICKLY ONLY 2 patients to 1 RN.

But in Florida, no such law exist because the nurses or the voters were unsuccessful, cant, wont or unable to get together & make patient/nurse safety related changes such us the RN's & voters in CA.

It definitely doesn't help if u live in a RED STATE where majority of the population are herded like cattles to a certain Point of View.

It begs the question, would you rather be an ICU patient in CA or FL?

2nd question, why the heck would you vote for politicians that are against your best interest?

All I can say is...May God help those ICU patients in FL, where sometimes the FL RN get's 3or4 patients total! (Yikes!) Super scary & Super unsafe!