What sort of experiences have you had with nurses' unions? This featured article discusses the growth on the nurses' union in California. Do you think that the growing strength of nurses' unions is good for nurses?

Unions are pretty strong here in Nevada, but I know that that isn't the case in other states - unfortunately in my opinion. What is the situation like at your hospital? I'm interested to hear what it's like in other places.

Is Oklahoma a "right-to-work" state?

I believe in nursing unions. I've never worked where there was one to join, but I know what they can do. I have worked where there was effort to form a union, but hospital administration was working harder, faster, and " furiously-er" to squash it. It was squashed. The nurses in that hospital do not make a liveable wage. If you're not married and have 2 incomes, or still living with mommy and daddy, there's no way to work there and live. I worked as a traveller at a hospital where the nurses used to have the standard service industries union, administered by the teamsters union. At one point, they went on strike, and made terrific gains in terms of work conditions and benefits. The hospital survived and the nurses jobs improved, but the nurses decided they did not like how the teamsters union handled the strike, so THE NURSES FIRED THE UNION AND FORMED THEIR OWN! It's the only hospital in the world where the nurses actually formed their own union, those nurses are the strongest people I ever worked with. All work related problems have been solved in their negotiated contract. All of them. They make decent wages, can afford all the things we need in life, like housing, food, clothing, education for our children, cars, insurance, retirement. Nurses don't ask for anyting extravagant--just decent. Hospital administrators are not going to give us what we need voluntarily. If they were going to, they would have done so already. They'll always be looking for how to save a buck at our expense. I worked in one hospital where the CEO told us the hospital only had a few million dollars in reserve and he felt like it should be more, so he decided we nurses should be willing to risk more out of pocket expense in case of our own illness. He changed our health insurance coverage to acompany which tripled our out of pocket expense, and then doubled the portion we paid for it. It crushed nurses. He, at his salary, decided how much we, at our salary, should be able to loose in a year if we got sick, or if someone in our family got sick. He had no perspective or understanding of my life and circumstances to make that decision for me. It meant financial ruin for nurses, but the hospital got its extra millions. Nurses NEED a union and until we understand this, we can expect hospitals to keep taking from us and demanding more of us.

I have often wondered what it would be like and why there has never been a "nurses union" . Most health care workers have the worst benefits for healthcare. The automakers had large unions of people. Look at how many nurses are out there. Maybe it didn't expand to that degree d/t nursing being predomitely a womans career. Local teachers and police have there own credit unions.

The union is not about paying someone to talk for you. It is about having someone stand by you, support you, and figure the best way to get what you want done. The dues go to your union. My financee is in the ironworkers union and he loves it. He pays his dues and that money helps the people that get laid-off, for deaths and pay the money to their families for expenses, etc. Unions, I think, are for the people. When people stand together a lot can be accomplished!

I am so sick of no employee representation! Here in Oklahoma, the doctors are all Gods, whether they are good or bad; and don't you dare discuss a situation where one made a mistake! I have been told several times that nurses are replaceable, but doctors are hard to find. (So shut up and keep working!)

Does anyone know of or work for any of the Sutter hospitals in Northern California?

It seems those 5,000 nurses are taking a beating!
AND, it appears that these nurses are taking a moral, ethical, and compassionate stand to save the facilities for the communities and underserved demographic, as well as demanding concerted and consistent safety for the patients they serve! Is that unreasonable?!

Sutter states that they are:
"Community Based, Not-for-Profit
Meeting the health care needs of the communities we serve – wherever they may be – is the cornerstone of Sutter Health's not-for-profit mission. That mission also extends to serving those who cannot afford health care and to supporting programs and services for those in financial need."
(http://SutterHealth.org)

Yet, the article I read at: http://medicalnewstoday.com/articles/98891.php
describing the situation, does not seem in concert with their mission statement.

As hospitals under the guise of 'non-profit' move increasing toward an aggressive business model of selective care and delivery of services, that should concern us all. For at some point and time WE will be the patients.

I worked at such a hospital that claims to be a non-profit entity, yet is making inroads into building a health facility in the Middle East, and the surrounding suburbs!
This same hospital spent an alleged sSIX million dollars to change the logos on every piece of communication, building(s) in an effort to 'brand' themselves.
Yet, some nurses with seniority at said institution received a five-ten cents raise (not percent, five pennies to ten pennies per hour). I kid you not.

I received an email for a 'strike' assignment in Northern California from Fastaff.
The assignment is to start March 21, 2008. NO, I do not do strike nurse assignments.

These nurses deserve our collective voice of support.

I am sending an email to: webmaster@sutterhealth.org, Subject Line: Inquiry from SHwebsite media (the email address is on their site) in support of the advocacy efforts of these nurses.
And a letter to: Sutter Health 2200 River Plaza Drive Sacramento, CA 95833, stating I support the advocacy efforts of the striking nurses.

Truly, the fight of these nurses is our fight. These striking nurses should stand tall on our shoulders. It does not matter where we are in the nation.

Adrienne

squirmals said:

We paid the dues in Wa and the union had no problem taking our money. When they did a major lay off, they continued to take our money and I never noticed the unions presence. There wasn't anything they could do for us.

Adrienne, I used to work at Alta Bates, in Berkeley, Ca., and at one time they were the top hospital in the nation for treating crack mothers and babies. Sadly, although Sutter still advertises as such they are not. Why? Because they fired the director, so most of the nurses who worked under her left. Almost instantaneously after Sutter took over Alta Bates, the morale sunk, everyone became depressed and angry. Staff were written up, fired, and in some cases in such a way, those terminated couldn't find employment in other hospitals. I've already written letters of support and will continue to do so.