California nurses' union reaches out
An aggressive California nurses union will join with two others across the country to create what they say will be the largest registered nurses union in the nation.
The new group, the United American Nurses-National Nurses Organizing Committee, will merge United American Nurses, the Massachusetts Nurses Assn. and California Nurses Assn./National Nurses Organizing Committee, which together represent 150,000 nurses.
Rose Ann Demoro, president of the 85,000-member California Nurses Assn., said the move is meant to capitalize on labor’s longed-for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which will revamp labor laws to make union membership easier.
She said a minority of nurses have union representation and that those who do are served by a patchwork of groups. The new group’s focus will be on adding new members and trying to speak with a single voice for nurses.
“We’re really trying to build something pretty profound,” DeMoro said.
--Evelyn Larrubia
EDITOR'S PICKS:
I don't agree with Nursing Unions and I certainly don't agree with this attempt of the CNA to merge with the two other nursing unions to form a monopoly and "Big Brother" of nursing unions.
Nursing unions claim they "empower nurses" and "ensure" fair wages and practices, all in the name of "patient safety", however the unions negotiations are deceitful, they lie to the prospective members, they cheat during their campaign sessions and they do absolutely NOTHING for patient safety or care. I believe unions had and still may have a place in American companies for the steal workers, grocery workers, etc...but the unions have no place in nursing! Registered Nurses are Professionals, we have all the components of a Profession and Unions do not fit into that criteria. when we as Professional Nurses give in to blue-collar tactics and allign ourselves wtih a group that encourages imoral and illegal activities in order to drum up members, we give up our right to call ourselves or demand others call us a professional. Do you see the AMA members (physicians) alligning themselves with a union organizaiton to speak for them? How about Attorneys, Judges, etc...? NO! Nursing is large enough that we should be able to speak for ourselves without the Thug mentality of a nursing union to do it for us. Wake up American nurses! Do you really want to throw your money away by makeing these unions and their employees rich! Go on-line and look up any one of these unions, thier financial data is public knowledge, check out the presidents and upper management salaries they are raking in...where do you think that money comes from? Your MANDATORY union dues!!! (Which by the way, nursing unions form a "Closed Shop" environment, which means if 51% of the nurses in your hospital vote "yes" and 49% vote "no", that 49% has no say-so or choice in the matter, they WILL pay dues, like-it or not. And further, if they chose not to pay thier dues, the union contract contains language allowing the union to force the hospital administration to terminate that employee and the union will send the employee to "collections" ruining thier credit for any back dues owed!!!) So ask around, talk to nurses who currently work in union environments, see if they are benefiting in the same level and manner as their union representatives! You will be surprised and sickened by the descrepencies. And once the union gets into your organization, it's worse than an HAI to get rid of!!! it's like a spreading fungus and even if the nurses then change their mind and come to realize they made a huge mistake by voting them in, they will have an even worse realization when they find out it is way harder to get rid of them then it was to get them in.
I personally think it is discusting and deplorable...I became a nurse to care for people and the patients for me are the bottom line; NOT the agenda of the nursing union or it's members!
Posted by: Linda,RN, MSN, PHN | February 21, 2009 at 09:45 AM
Can't help but to ask you this....Exactly what PROOF do you have that does NOT reflect an increased in patient safety from an increase in staffing ratios as well as patient satisfaction from having that very much needed help. May I remind you that the U.S. is OVER 150,000 nurses short and GROWING while the corporate side continues to take away from healthcare workers things such as retirement, bonus, freezing wages (just to name a few-check out what SSM is doing to their nurses as well as others).
Just so I have my bases covered, I provided you with an article from the New England Journal of Medicine with PROOF that an increase in staffing only improves patient safety, satisfaction, health, as well as decreasing the amount of time spent healing.
http://search.nejm.org/search?p=R&srid=S9%2d5&lbc=nejm&w=Nurse%20Staffing&url=http%3a%2f%2fcontent%2enejm%2eorg%2fcgi%2fcontent%2fshort%2f346%2f22%2f1715&rk=2&uid=346981253&sid=2&ts=subs&rsc=P8Q6aRPMNGL1zSNe&method=and&isort=score&start%5fyear=1999&start%5fmonth=3.
There are several articles veering towards the same idea of nurse patient ratios, nurse satisfaction and nursing pay.
I am proud to be an RN in the ICU for several years and will never turn my back on my patients nor the care and compassion I have and willingly give to them. On the other hand, when a man that drives a trash truck (no offense intended) makes more per year than RN's (national avarage) do...there is a serious problem.
Quite frankly, after SSM stopped pension matching 2 weeks ago ,with salary freezes, layoffs, etc. I would appreciate more information regarding this organization for the mid-west as well.
Thank you for your time and have a great day.
Posted by: L | March 18, 2009 at 09:04 PM
How does one mention the word union in a right to work state without geting fired?
Posted by: terri farr | February 20, 2011 at 05:15 PM