What unions?

Nurses General Nursing

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Those of you that are union members, where are you?

I keep seeing posts of nurses having difficulties with management and, inevitably, one of the first suggestions is "take it to the union"

I cant be the only person shaking my head and saying "yeah, WHAT UNION?"

It seems some nurses think they are everywhere, so I'm curious as to how common they really are (and how much they really help).

So - union members

1 - is it hospital based, for your workplace only, or does it represent all nurses in the state?

2 - are all nursing personnel represented by the same union or are does it only represent RN/LPN or RN only?

3 - what does your union do for you (if anything)?

4 - what do you wish your union would do for you that it does not (if anything)?

5 - is there anything else about the setup that you would change to make it more effective and a better advocacy for nurses?

6 - is there any type of coverage for those who are not full-time/part-time employees (i.e. perdiem/agency/travelers)? If not, how are they treated differently?

Thanks for any replies!

When nurses learn to speak with one another in a professional and collegial manner it is quite possible that they will realize the awesome power they have all by themselves.

I'm sorry if my comments offended you. I do get incredibly frustrated when people acknowledge that the ratio law was a landmark reform and say ... that's great ... but I still don't want to contribute to the organization that made that happen. Your main argument is that you don't want to pay union dues. I'm sorry, but that strikes me as a cop out. Especially when the union dues aren't very much to begin with, and are tax deductible on top of that if you itemize.

55,000 nurses paid union dues for years so that 300,000 nurses in this state could benefit. Basically your organization is saying ... let those 55,000 nurses pay, even though I'll benefit ... but I won't pay some measily union dues. How are those 55,000 nurses supposed to feel about that? How is that fair to them?

And does anyone honestly believe that the California legislature would have passed that law without CNA's lobbying efforts? That is absolutely ridiculous. And who paid to defend the ratio law in court? CNA. Nurses would be nowhere in this state without CNA.

What power do nurses have by themselves? They complain on this board ... constantly. Yet, nothing happens. Nurses speaking for themselves has gotten them absolutely nowhere. There's tons of evidence on this board to prove that. Just look at the working conditions in other states, which are posted on this board on a daily basis.

If there is a better way, I'm all for it. But at least this particular union has gotten results ... results that have prompted thousands of nurses to move here from out of state because of that ratio law.

What is so wrong with that? What is so wrong with an organization charging a small, tax deductible fee to finance the greatest nursing reform in recent history? Any organization, even yours, would have to do the same, if it had accomplished the same.

:coollook:

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I am a nurse and a union organiser in Australia. I am not organising nurses but other health workers. It is good to see so many nurses thinking critically about unionism.

Think about what a union is. It is a group of workers who act in a coordinated manner to try to address the power imbalance in their workplace. It is not an outside body. The organiser is just a tool to teach union members how to get or be stronger.

My wife and I lived in the USA and when 1199 showed up at my wife's hosptial we were sent letters threatening to sack anyone who spoke to the union. I was shocked as that would be illegal in Australia. The bosses do this because they know that when workers are disorganised they are weak. How can you negotiate a contract individually with someone who has an accountant, a lawyer, an Industrial Relations/Human Resources Manager etc behind them. Don't forget your employer probably belongs to a body that represents private hospials. So they know it is smart to be in a union.

So to answer your question

1. You and yourworkmates decide. Start speaking to them and then ring an organiser

2. Depdends on the rules of your state. In Queensland, Australia all nurses are covered by the Queensland Nurses' Union. This includes Enrolled and Assistant Nurses.

3. My union office provides resources, training, support and guidance. The workers are union so we do it for ourself. We fight for fair wages and conditions on a daily basis.

4. I wish my union could do what your unions in the USA do. We don't have closed shops so people who don't join get the same benefits. Of course they won't fight for those benefits so they make union members weaker. We don't call them scabs just potential memebers. We try to educate them on how we could be stronger and get better outcomes if they joined and got active.

5. I would like employers in Australia to give more encouragement to union members to be active. Now we are in a situation where management in the private sector do everything they can to target and harrass union delegates. They are learning union busting tricks from the USA.

6. All workers in Australia get the benefits of union members efforts.

If you want a union start talking to your work mates. Don't look for an outside body to fix your problems. You can fix your own problems if you and the other members are organised and strong.

Those of you that are union members, where are you?

I keep seeing posts of nurses having difficulties with management and, inevitably, one of the first suggestions is "take it to the union"

I cant be the only person shaking my head and saying "yeah, WHAT UNION?"

It seems some nurses think they are everywhere, so I'm curious as to how common they really are (and how much they really help).

So - union members

1 - is it hospital based, for your workplace only, or does it represent all nurses in the state?

2 - are all nursing personnel represented by the same union or are does it only represent RN/LPN or RN only?

3 - what does your union do for you (if anything)?

4 - what do you wish your union would do for you that it does not (if anything)?

5 - is there anything else about the setup that you would change to make it more effective and a better advocacy for nurses?

6 - is there any type of coverage for those who are not full-time/part-time employees (i.e. perdiem/agency/travelers)? If not, how are they treated differently?

Thanks for any replies!

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My wife and I lived in the USA and when 1199 showed up at my wife's hosptial we were sent letters threatening to sack anyone who spoke to the union. I was shocked as that would be illegal in Australia. The bosses do this because they know that when workers are disorganised they are weak. How can you negotiate a contract individually with someone who has an accountant, a lawyer, an Industrial Relations/Human Resources Manager etc behind them. Don't forget your employer probably belongs to a body that represents private hospials. So they know it is smart to be in a union.

Actually, I thought that it was illegal here in the USA as well. Guess not. It certainly should be, though! Criminals have more civil rights than honest, hard-working Americans, it seems sometimes.

It is really sad that Australia is picking up on the USA's shameful acts of union-busting. Instead, it would be nice if both our countries could learn respectable labor practices, rather than encouraging management to cut wages and benefits for staff, so they can hoard all the money for their own benefit.

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I'm sorry if my comments offended you. I do get incredibly frustrated when people acknowledge that the ratio law was a landmark reform and say ... that's great ... but I still don't want to contribute to the organization that made that happen. Your main argument is that you don't want to pay union dues. I'm sorry, but that strikes me as a cop out. Especially when the union dues aren't very much to begin with, and are tax deductible on top of that if you itemize.

55,000 nurses paid union dues for years so that 300,000 nurses in this state could benefit. Basically your organization is saying ... let those 55,000 nurses pay, even though I'll benefit ... but I won't pay some measily union dues. How are those 55,000 nurses supposed to feel about that? How is that fair to them?

And does anyone honestly believe that the California legislature would have passed that law without CNA's lobbying efforts? That is absolutely ridiculous. And who paid to defend the ratio law in court? CNA. Nurses would be nowhere in this state without CNA.

What power do nurses have by themselves? They complain on this board ... constantly. Yet, nothing happens. Nurses speaking for themselves has gotten them absolutely nowhere. There's tons of evidence on this board to prove that. Just look at the working conditions in other states, which are posted on this board on a daily basis.

If there is a better way, I'm all for it. But at least this particular union has gotten results ... results that have prompted thousands of nurses to move here from out of state because of that ratio law.

What is so wrong with that? What is so wrong with an organization charging a small, tax deductible fee to finance the greatest nursing reform in recent history? Any organization, even yours, would have to do the same, if it had accomplished the same.

:coollook:

Applause, applause!

Fantastic post, lizz.

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Actually, I thought that it was illegal here in the USA as well. Guess not. It certainly should be, though! Criminals have more civil rights than honest, hard-working Americans, it seems sometimes.

It is really sad that Australia is picking up on the USA's shameful acts of union-busting. Instead, it would be nice if both our countries could learn respectable labor practices, rather than encouraging management to cut wages and benefits for staff, so they can hoard all the money for their own benefit.

I agree. Where I work, there are horrible OSHA violations every day, simply because the company is not willing to spend the $$ to remedy the situations. Also, there is no housekeeping staff. Nurses are required to do all the cleaning, removal of biohazardous waste, etc. This is in Texas, a pitiful right-to-work state, where employers do not even have to have Workman's Comp. If we had a union, employers couldn't get away with the illegal things they do.

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Hello. This is my first reply so here goes.

Ours is a federal employee union, the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest of them all. Our local is based in a VA hospital; its headquarters is in DC. We represent all nurses here and are the only union.

Having been a member since 1988 I can say it has been a great help here.

What do unions do, you ask? We negotiate salaries, conduct locality pay surveys, do contract bargaining, pay attention to working conditions, set shifts according to individuals' needs and/or education plans, assure tuition reimbursement, pay for a Capitol Hill lobbyist, assure benefits e.g. life and health insurance, and monitor overtime to make sure it is not mandatory. Dues are $10/pay period and are tax deductible.

If I could change anything I would like to eliminate the fear factor most nurses have about bringing up issues or grievances. Union busting does happen but we address it through filing of Unfair Labor Practices.

By the way, I am an RN president of the local and our new hospital director is an RN.

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