Nursing Collective Bargaining and Professionalism

Nursing Collective Bargaining and Professionalism

Joining unions is a mandatory rule in almost all US states, with California having the strongest and largest association in the country.  The union protects and advocates for the needs and privileges of the nurses. The majority of nurses prefer joining nurses’ unions due to several reasons. First, the union ensures job security compared to non-union members who are subjected to ‘at-will employment.’ The management can decide on its own without considering the needs of the nurse, and thus a nurse joining the union is a countermeasure. Union members can strike when they feel that healthcare management is not obeying the contract terms. Secondly, the coalition engages healthcare management to advocates for better working conditions. This enhances safe patient-nurse ratios, better safety policies, and a right working environment.

Furthermore, unions factor in seniority advantages in that long-serving nurses will see additional benefits, including holidays and pay rises. Union members will also have assured educational reimbursement to ensure professionalism and integration of new nursing requirements. In matters of legal representation, in case a nurse breaches the protocol and requires disciplinary action, a representative from the union will always be present to ensure the nurse is given a fair trial.

Contrarily, some nurses will not want to join a union citing several reasons. First, most unions take political directions, and in the end, some members could take advantage of the others. These alliances could go further into forming an opposition to healthcare management, making the entire system substandard. Also, many nurses believe that unionism is not guaranteed for professionalism. A nurse can be a professional through advance educations and certifications. Thirdly, unions are, but small organizations and its memberships could go up to even a million in number. Therefore, most members will have no opportunity to present their grievances, and if they don’t contribute, they will have no capacity to oppose the presented ideas. While senior based promotions are reasonable, it does not consider the impact brought by an employee to the healthcare but rather the time they have worked in the system, and the nurse will not have the innovative and striving force. Nurses thus forego unions and work independently, knowing that their impact will be felt and appreciated at the right time. Moreover, most unions overcharge on the union fees unproportioned to the membership advantages a nurse would instead remain union-free..

The essential step in organizing a union within an organization is an in-depth discussion with co-workers as a strategy to collect their views and interests. Development of an organization committee follows with at least a representation of every department in the healthcare and reflecting the ethnic, gender, and racial diversity. Secondly, the committee adopts an issue program of demands and an election campaign. Thirdly, the union carries out an organizing drive that involves talking to employees on the importance of unionization. The next strategy is conducting the union’s representation election with the presence of an NLRP representative. This stage determines whether the union is certified or disqualified as the employee’s bargaining representative. Finally, there is collective bargaining between the union and the employer basing on official certification as an employees’ representative. In case of an agreement between the employer and the union, the members will vote to either accept or reject their terms.

References

Blais, K. (2015). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives. Pearson.

Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2016). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, & management. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Giovanetto, L. (2017). The Voice of Health: Reflections on the Importance of Unions Through the Eyes of a Future.