1 Discuss the effect of the unionization of nurses Identify

1. Discuss the effect of the unionization of nurses. Identify factors that will influence whether or not nurses join unions. Discuss the role of unions within the nursing profession. In your opinion, have unions helped or hurt the nursing profession and why. Would you join a union, why or why not? Do you have any personal experience with unions? How do organizations perceive nursing unions and are they supportive or resistant to unionization and why?

Solution

In 2009, several health care unions put aside their differences and embarked on an unprecedented push for further unionization of hospital, medical care, and nursing home employees. Desperate for new members, nursing unions are exploring new tactics. These include organizing in states with right to work laws and incorporating religious messages in an effort to organize Catholic hospital employees. This push for members has affected both the number of strikes and the proportion of nurses who are unionized. It has also had negative effects on patient care and health care costs. Strikes put many thousands of patients’ lives and health at risk, and unionization contributes to increased health care prices, which reduces the availability of health care.

According to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, 2010 saw new health care strikes increase by almost 70 percent over 2009 levels, and last year that number rose by an additional 73 percent. In terms of days, strikes increased by 27 percent, rising from under 800 days in 2009 to over 1,000 in 2011. The number of health care workers involved in the 2010 strikes soared by over 800 percent compared to 2009. These sharp increases in strikes occurred even though the mere threat of a strike can harm the provision of health care. In California, for example, over 100 strikes were threatened in 2011. A single union—the National Nurses Union—carried out 18 of those strike threats, affecting 46 hospitals, which incurred significant costs to prepare for strikes that never came.

Hence, unionization of nurses has a negetive impact of the healthcare services provided by theorganizations, and the risk of patient\'s life and well being increases due to this unionization of nurses. the factors that influence the nurses to join the unions is if the other nurses of the organization are unioninzed or not. If the other counterparts are unionized, other nurses also opt for joining unions, to avoid standing out of the croud. Also, the benefits that the unions ooffer to attract the nurses, influence their decision to join the unions.

In my opinion unions have hurt the nursing profession, as the base for this profession is the emergency service provided to sick, but due to various strikes, and comotions that unions cause, the reliability and the serenity of the profession has been hurt. Due to the strikes, and threats nursing profession has lost the respect that the profession entailed.

If all the other counterparts in an organization are part of a union, I will have to join the union to avoid the overt peer pressure and pressure from the unions. But in ideal case, I will avoid joining any union.

Organizations negatively perceive nursing unions and are generally resistant to unionization, as the unionization pose a high cost and risk of hinderence of service in the organization. Due to the stickes and threats pf strikes, organizatio ns incuirr a huge cost to ensure smooth running of the organization. Also, if the strikes do happen, they tarnish the image of the organization, and affect the service\'s reliability and quality the organization provides.