FAQs

WHY DO WE ORGANIZE?

Working in any profession can be a frustrating experience. Significant cuts in health care funding, the overall decline in the U.S. standard of living, job changes in the economy that have dramatically increased the number of people who are uninsured or under insured, an increase in the percentage of people living in poverty, shifting health care costs from employers to employees, and union busting have all impacted the health care system and our jobs.

Employers are attempting to cut costs by cutting corners, cutting jobs, and trying to change our working conditions. This forces understaffing and unbearable workloads. It compromises care for patients and leads to high employee stress and frustration. This is especially true for employees that have no union to represent them.

Unlike union members, employees without a union face discrimination due to favoritism. They lack job security because they have no recourse through the grievance procedure. They have no ability to collectively negotiate on their wages, hours and conditions of work. Most importantly, they are not part of an organization that advocates for quality patient care and access to health care.In the U.S. there are 5 million health care employees, making health care the second largest industry in the country. Yet less than 20% are organized into any labor union. The problem that we face in our hospitals and clinics won’t dramatically change unless we recognize that it will take health care employees united in large numbers to change it.

If we want to be able to gain more control over our work lives, make our jobs more satisfying, and improve the kind of care we deliver, it will take significant growth, strength and clout which comes from power in numbers. We cannot afford the luxury to despair over the conditions we face. We must work towards improving our jobs and the health care system by bringing union organization to health care providers. If we want to achieve our goals and ideals, it will take a movement of health care providers to produce it.

WHY UNIONS?

Without a union, the individual employee has no voice, but is subject to every arbitrary and unilateral decision the employer makes. The employer can lay off or fire any worker, for any reason. Where there is collective bargaining in a healthcare facility, the individual worker has a voice. That worker shares with the other employees, and with the employer, the responsibility for establishing orderly procedures for determining wages, hours of work, health and safety procedures, promotion and layoff policies and justified penalties for the violation of necessary work rules.

As a part of a union, you have the strength that comes from numbers and through your union, the ability to select able staff people - negotiators, lawyers, research specialists, and others - who are skilled in the art of collective bargaining. Only as part of a group do you have the economic strength that permits bargaining with the employer on a basis approaching equality.

Collective bargaining is a rational, democratic and peaceful was to resolve conflict. In recent years some 150,000 collective bargaining agreements have been negotiated. Only 2% of them were affected by strikes. So, in 98% of all cases, collective bargaining was successful! Not a bad record! It took a lot of nerve for employees to stand up for their rights in the days when there were fewer unions and no laws legalizing collective bargaining. There were no job safety standards, paid vacations, sick leaves or retirement plans. Hiring and firing, promotion and layoff practices were under the exclusive control of the employers. But employees did stand up for their rights, and today we are enjoying the results. You can’t put a price tag on the human dignity individual workers feel when they stand up for their rights.

WHAT CAN WE NEGOTIATE?

Under the Public Employer Relations Act (PERA) and the National Labor Relations Board Act (NLRBA), the following three areas are mandatory subjects of bargaining:

WAGES

Wages

·	Incentive pay or bonus

·	Overtime and shift premiums

·	Premium pay for Sundays and holidays

·	Merit pay raises

·	Cost of living increases

·	Longevity pay or premiums

·	Holidays not worked

Vacations

Sick time

·	Pay for training

·	Bereavement pay

·	Call-in or call back pay

·	Severance pay

·	Holiday bonuses or “gifts”

·	Pension plan

·	Profit-sharing plans

·	Insurance plans

HOURS

·	Hours of work

·	Work schedule

·	Rest periods (breaks)

·	Lunch breaks

·	Restructuring - impact of the hour distribution - the process and tool

·	System for granting time off - vacation, education, etc.

TERMS & CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

·	Rules of conduct

·	Grievance and arbitration procedures

Workload

·	Promotions, transfers, layoffs, recalls, etc.

·	Discharge and discipline

·	Health and safety

·	Probationary and trial periods

·	Testing of employees

·	Job-related clothing or equipment

·	Job duties

·	Job postings

·	Job qualifications and certification requirements

·	Workplace facilities and conveniences

·	Work assignments