Nurse Issues

Safe Staffing
Only recently have hospital administrators begun to concede that they don't have enough nurses on staff, which they attribute to a growing nursing shortage brought on by demographic changes. In their view, the solution is to expand recruitment and education programs to bring more people into the nursing profession. But the industry actually created the shortage by cutting staffing levels to the point where nurses began to leave hospitals for less demanding and more rewarding jobs. » Learn More

Better Pay and Benefits
Nursing historically has been an undervalued profession. While nursing salaries have come a long way in the last decade or so, they have yet to match the high level of education, skills, and responsibility required of the profession. Now that a serious nursing shortage is emerging, it’s more important than ever to improve nurses’ pay and benefits. Through their unions, nurses are negotiating pay scales and benefit packages that attract and retain nurses. » Learn More

Hospital Policies
By forming a union, nurses gain a voice in hospital policies and procedures. Rather than having decisions made arbitrarily without our input, we negotiate over the policies that affect our patients, our profession, and our future. » Learn More

Mandatory Overtime
Mandatory overtime has become common in our hospitals. Hospitals have been cutting back on the number of nurses they keep on staff in order to save money. Understaffed hospitals are increasingly calling on nurses to work back-to-back eight-hour shifts, or four extra hours on top of a 12-hour shift. »Learn More

Safer Needles
Many health care workers put their lives on the line every time they use a needle. Each year, 600,000 to 1 million workers are accidentally stuck by needles--nearly three thousand daily. More than 1,000 contract serious bloodborne diseases, such as HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. If stuck by a contaminated needle, workers must live through a terrifying six months or longer to find out they're infected. » Learn More

Job Security
Because the hospital industry is increasingly being driven by corporate profit and financial concerns, health care employees and nurses face a degree of uncertainty when it comes to their jobs and their future. Without a union contract, anyone can lose their job at any time and for any reason. » Learn More

Safety on the Job
Every day, we're asked to ensure the safety and quick recovery of our patients to full health. That is the essence of quality patient care. Naturally, we're also concerned about working in an environment that looks after our own safety and health on the job. » Learn More