Health care works best when caregivers have access to affordable, quality health care for ourselves and our families, and have wages and benefits that reflect our contribution to society.
Around the country, more and more hospital employees are forming unions. Forming a union guarantees we are heard because we speak with one unified voice. By working together as a group, rather than as isolated individuals, we can address key issues and concerns in our hospitals and health care facilities, including:
• Staffing & workloads
• Pay & benefits
• Job security
• A voice in hospital policies
With a union, no one ever has to go it alone. When there’s a problem, hospital employees solve it together as a group. Because we’ll speak with one voice, we’ll have a say in decisions that affect us and our patients. Working together, we make our hospital a better place to work and receive care.
Why are so many hospital employees forming unions?Because we want to solve problems like short staffing; gain a voice on the job, improve pay and benefits, and stand up for quality patient care. As cost-cutting, managed care and hospital mergers dramatically change the way health care works, growing numbers of hospital employees are improving their jobs by joining together in unions.
Here are the top five reasons:
A voice on the job. A union gives those of us who actually do the work a say in how the hospital operates. Instead of simply reacting to arbitrary decisions coming from management, we can work together to solve problems and influence policies that affect our professions and our patients.
Better staffing and quality care. Through our unions, hospital employees negotiate better staffing guidelines and more reasonable workloads, preserve professional standards, and stand up for quality patient care. For instance: CNA's who are SEIU members at Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center have contract language that says they care for nine patients or less on day shift.
Higher pay and regular raises. Joining a union means guaranteed rewards for hard work and a pay system that recognizes longevity and the cost of living. For instance, SEIU members at Kaiser received a minimum of 19% raise in their last contract.
Benefits we can count on. Together, union members negotiate benefits like fully paid employer health insurance, pensions, vacation, and sick leave — and they're guaranteed in writing. At Kaiser, SEIU members with 20 years of seniority earn 31 days of paid vacation and holidays, in addition to 12 days of sick leave per year.
Job security and representation. A union brings fair procedures and security to a hospital. It allows employees to speak out about solutions to problems on the job without fear of retaliation, and to have a say when cost-cutting, contracting-out, and other decisions are considered. Unions are America's way of making sure workers have a voice-on the job and in the delivery of health care. Having a union helps to balance the growing power of health care corporations while protecting quality care.