Union nurses: Administration is in the business of union busting

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2221581.shtml?cat=517

Posted at: 07/30/2011 7:57 PM | Updated at: 07/31/2011 11:21 AM
By: Eddie Garcia, KOB Eyewitness News 4; Danielle Flores, KOB.com



Christus St. Vincent union nurses are deciding whether they will go on strike Sunday in an ongoing battle with the administration.

A contract between the two expires at midnight Sunday and if nothing is done, the nurses will take action.

The union said they have already given up millions in worker benefits to hospital administration to make sure the nurse to patient ratio stays at safe levels.

Contentious negotiations over the issue have been going on since April and the union said the out of state company that runs the hospital has been in the business of union busting.

The union also said the reason they are fighting so hard is to make sure there is enough staffing to make the hospital safe for patients.

Santa Fe Mayor David Coss along with several high ranking officials, including Speaker Ben Lujan attended Saturday's meeting to show their support.

FULL story and video at link.

[w8liftinglady]

1. as a nurse in a strictly "ANTI-union" state,I agree

Any attempts at union organizing for nurses in Texas has been met with veiled and open threats from administration.
We will never be organized here until the working class rises.We ARE the majority here.

[patrice]

2. Nurses are the LAST line between the machine & the People & they get busted if

they don't do exactly and exclusively as they are told by Administrators.

There's a very hard stratification between the different layers of health care and all of the direct care givers are so busy and so afraid of letting someone in need down - if they get fired and sent away - that they have all they can do to get their work done. So, even though they can get jobs ANYWHERE because of staffing shortages, they keep their heads down, because they don't want to leave those in their care to the "tender mercies" of the machines, some of which are actually humans in their midst.