Unions and Hourly pay vs. Salaried

Chico David, BSN, RN · Jan 1, 2009

It's a little more complicated than that. While many unions do have some form of "at large" membership, there is limited value in it if you work in a non-union workplace. So whether you join a union or not will largely depend on whether the place you go to work is a unionized hospital. In other words the nurses at the hospital have to have voted for union representation. Unionized hospitals are common in some places - California, New York, Massachusetts, a few others. They are rare to absent in the south and interior west.

As to hourly vs salaried, that's more complicated than you think too. Most staff nurses, which you will be to begin with, work hourly. Being hourly gives you the opportunity to work overtime, depending on where you work, so can be an avenue to more money that way. And in some area, like surgery, one can often take call and make extra that way. Most supervisory nurses are salaried - and their base salaries are certainly higher than most hourly nurses, but there is no opportunity for overtime.

Hope that is helpful.

TuTonka · May 8, 2009

I would like to know......If you joined a union and then applied for a position would this give you an edge over a nonuniom applicant?

Chico David, BSN, RN · May 8, 2009

I would like to know......If you joined a union and then applied for a position would this give you an edge over a nonuniom applicant?

Actually, in many places it might be the opposite - the manager who was hiring you might think you a trouble maker and not want you there. In places with high union density, like the SF Bay area, it's not an issue, but in places with few or no unionized nurses plenty of nurses have been blackballed and found it impossible to get jobs after they tried to unionize their hospitals. Part of the way US labor law does not work well to protect workers.

nicurn001 · May 8, 2009

I would like to know......If you joined a union and then applied for a position would this give you an edge over a nonuniom applicant?

No .

If you work in a non unionized Hospital , you would not be a member of a collective bargaining unit at that hospital , so you have and your fellow nurses would have no influence upon what management does regarding pay and conditions of labor

TuTonka · May 8, 2009

But what if you went to a unionized hospital? Still the same?

K98 · May 8, 2009

Be careful what union you join. My facility is represented by the SEIU. The SEIU "negotiated" a joke of a contract that the hospital violates at will. I believe that our contract raises do little more than cover our union dues (now 70.00+ per month x 1400 RNs). Unions in healthcare are not a bad thing, just make certain that you are represented by a healthcare union, not a catch-all like the SEIU that has one purpose. More members.

nicurn001 · May 8, 2009

But what if you went to a unionized hospital? Still the same?

If you want special treatment stay in a non union facility .If you brown nose with your supervisor you may get benificial tratment . If you try to ensure that your supervisor follows all policies and laws applicable to your workarea ( eg. getting breaks as per law ), as you have to, you will be labelled a troublemaker and be out the door !. In the latter situation being in a union would help you .

TuTonka · May 9, 2009

If you want special treatment stay in a non union facility .If you brown nose with your supervisor you may get benificial tratment . If you try to ensure that your supervisor follows all policies and laws applicable to your workarea ( eg. getting breaks as per law ), as you have to, you will be labelled a troublemaker and be out the door !. In the latter situation being in a union would help you .

I do not think I have ever been a brown noser. lol The union that she mentioned is now working with NNoc according to an article hmmmmm no wait it was a post I had read about it. and I am curious. I have been in the medical profession for a very long time and had not had a union where ever I worked. Where I am at now they do have them in alot of the facilities and before I came into Allnurses.com I could not have told you what their names are. So this is a learning process for me and I truly want to know the pro and cons. As far as poor contracts it has been published that the NNoc admin has done the same and worse.

TuTonka