As nurses at Our Lady of the Resurrection move forward in their effort to improve patient care by organizing a union with AFSCME, it is important that everyone knows the truth. Management will try to undermine nurses' support for the union by spreading misinformation, confusion and fear. Why will they waste precious time and resources on this campaign of misinformation? Because when nurses unionize, management alone will no longer be able to make ALL the decisions- from budgets to benefits to bedside care- without our direct participation in those decisions.
Here are some of the most common "management myths" that nurses have heard when organizing (and they all seem to use the same lines!), and then the real facts about unions based on nurses' own experiences.
MANAGEMENT MYTH: Nurses are professionals and unions aren't for professionals.
NURSE FACTS: Nurses are professionals. As professionals, we should have a REAL voice on the job so we excercise our professional judgement. Through unions, professionals (from pharmacists to educators to physicians) negotiate for greater autonomy, flexibility and professional advancement, in addition to improving pay and benefits.
MANAGEMENT MYTH: The union is a group of outsiders that will get in between management and bedside nurses.
NURSE FACTS: With AFSCME, WE, the OLR nurses, are the union! WE will elect our own leadership, including our bargaining committee, from among our colleagues. WE set priorities and negotiate with management and WE decide wether or not to accept a proposed contract. We work together with AFSCME's professional staff- negotiators, lawyers, staff representatives, budget and benefit analysts, etc- to help achieve our goals. With AFSCME, we can have the tools and leverage we need to forge productive partnerships with management based on mutual respect.
MANAGEMENT MYTH: The Union just wants your dues money.
NURSE FACTS: With AFSCME, we don't pay a cent in dues until we vote for a contract we've negotiated and it becomes effective. AFSCME-represented nurses point out that the contracts they've negotiated have always had wage improvements that far outweigh their dues.
MANAGEMENT MYTH: This is a bad union that has attacked the hospital.
NURSE FACTS: Nurses throughout Resurrection hospitals repeatedly tried to get management to address quality problems. We were ignored. So these concerns regarding quality of care were raised more publically. Unfortunately, instead of improving nurse staffing and investing more in patient care, Resurrection hired more consultants to go on a public relations offensive.
MANAGEMENT MYTH: The hospital is struggling financially, if nurses vote for a union, the hospital will close.
NURSE FACTS: It is illegal for anyone from management to threaten layoffs or hospital closure if the union is voted in. With a real voice at work, we can work together to improve patient care and the operation of the hospital, contributing to its long term financial viability.
MANAGEMENT MYTH: Nurses will lose our flexibility if we organize a union.
NURSE FACTS: With AFSCME, we are the union. We will negotiate with management over work rules and policies. We want to solve problems. If we're happy with current work rules, we will not change them.
MANAGEMENT MYTH: The union will make you go on strike.
NURSE FACTS: The decision to go on strike can only be made by a majority vote of the nurses affected. No one can make this decision for us. Also, over 99% of all contracts are negotiated without striking. Strikes are rare and a last resort.
MANAGEMENT MYTH: Nurses shouldn't organize with AFSCME because it is not a nurse union.
NURSE FACTS: AFSCME represents more than 60,000 nurses around the country. As part of a 1.6 million member union, AFSCME nurses know that the union has the resources and respect to advocate effectively for their interests at the local, state and national level. In Illinois, AFSCME has worked with Resurrection nurses to lead the fight for safe nurse-to-patient ratios legislation. Recently, almost 200 nurses who work for the state of Illinois overwhelmingly chose AFSCME representation.