There has already been a lot of misinformation spread by management. Some managers are saying things like, "A union would not help us" or "A union doesn't work for our floor."

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The reality is that in a Nurses Union, nurses from different units designate a union representative so that the nurses on your unit can focus on the specific things that they need and changes they would like to see. Yes, there will be hospital-wide changes set, such as wages, benefits, and job security. Nothing about your unit's daily administrative operations, such as scheduling, time off requests, or overtime requests need to change if you don't want them to. If you are completely happy with the way your unit runs, then focus on higher wages and better benefits for a field that is in extremely high worldwide demand, yet can't even get a raise consistent with inflation. 

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So when a manager says, "A union won't work for us", ask yourself what does work for them? Do they just get to keep making all of the decisions, keeping our wages and benefits suppressed, expecting us to take on more patients and liability, changing whatever they want regardless of considerations for patient safety or nurse well-being, without our input?

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THAT SHOULD BE WHAT DOES NOT WORK FOR US!

 

What Management and Anti-Union Consultants will say (be prepared):
 

“Cards are your vote and are legally binding.”
 

This is simply not true. There is no difference, legally, between someone who has signed a union authorization card and someone who has not. RNs who sign union cards have the same rights as those who do not, and RNs are not bound to any additional limitations or rules by signing. The purpose of signing a union card is to show support for forming a union with your fellow RNs. It is not a vote. When a sufficient percentage of RNs sign union cards, there will be a secret ballot union election. Only after a successful election do you become a union member. Lastly, union cards are kept completely confidential—neither management nor your coworkers will know you signed a card unless you tell them!

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"We didn’t know that there was a problem.

Give us a chance and we’ll fix it."
 

At the advice of high-priced consultants, hospital administrators may talk to nurses

individually and ask for a second chance. Managers will make promises that things

will improve. They may even give raises, restore cuts, and improve benefits.
 

THE REALITY: Any solutions that are implemented can be rolled back as soon as

the threat of organizing goes away. The only way to ensure lasting improvements is

through a legally binding union contract.

"You will lose Flexibility."
 

Anti-union consultants will claim that having a union will mean losing self-scheduling,

weekend programs or other policies that make your job easier.
 

THE REALITY: Once you have a union, management can’t make changes without

negotiating with you.
 

"You will start with less than what you have now in negotiations."
 

Management will claim that negotiations start from zero, and that you could lose

benefits that you have now.
 

THE REALITY: Negotiations start from current wages benefits and working

conditions. If managers really thought nurses would lose through collective

bargaining, why are they fighting the organizing drive?
 

"The union is an outside third party that will come between us."
 

Union-busting consultants will say that “the union” will make decisions for nurses and

get in the way when RNs want to communicate with managers. Managers may try to

divide nurses by unit, shift, race, seniority or other superficial differences to prevent

RNs from organizing together.
 

THE REALITY: Nurses ARE the union. Nurses elect their coworkers to be their

representatives, and all union decisions are made by nurses. If you have a good

relationship with your supervisor, having a union doesn’t change that. The first step

in a contract grievance procedure is to try to resolve the problem by talking directly

with your manager. But if a manager treats RNs unfairly, having a union will provide

additional steps to address concerns.
 

"Union dues aren’t worth it.
 

Managers who never cared how you spent your money before may suddenly express

concerns when it comes to dues that support your union and your voice on the job.
 

THE REALITY: No one pays union dues until nurses negotiate and vote to ratify a

contract. Would you and your coworkers vote for a contract that didn’t have significant

improvements? Dues are generally around $60-80 per month in Michigan, and union nurses are generally paid a higher average rate.
 

"The union will make you go on strike, abandoning your patients."
 

Anti-union consultants exploit fears and misconceptions about strikes.
 

THE REALITY: Only the affected nurses can vote to call for a strike. 98% of contracts

are settled without a strike, and RNs decide if all other options have been exhausted.

In the rare event that nurses vote to strike, federal law requires ten days of notice

so that the hospital can take responsibility for making alternate arrangements for

patients.
 

"It is pointless to organize, because the hospital doesn’t have any money."
 

Hospital administrators talk about how little money they are making. But how often do

they take money-saving suggestions from bedside nurses who see waste every day?
 

THE REALITY: When RNs form a union, they have a say in how money is spent. As a

union, nurses have access to information about the hospital’s finances.
When they organize, nurses can advocate for funds to be spent on staff retention and
patient care.