In the healthcare industry, there really isn’t much difference between a for-profit and a non-profit institution. This gives the employer a greater motivation to get more work out of fewer people. This is especially true in a labor-intensive industry like healthcare, where labor accounts for more than fifty percent of an employer’s costs. The more work produced at a lower hourly wage, the more the employer profits. It’s a systemic problem: The conflict exists because the employer makes a profit by demanding as much work as possible from employees in exchange for an hourly wage. The conflict between management and workers does not exist because managers are inherently bad and workers inherently good. Why is there conflict between management and workers? R esearch By investigating the standards and practices of employers, we equip ourselves with valuable information in negotiating fair, equitable contracts for workers.Ĭ ommunication A vital element of our work is getting the word out to our members, the public, and the media. We need to ensure that the voice of healthcare workers is part of the discussion. Healthcare and insurance corporations are heavily involved in the political process, influencing decisions that impact our industry. P olitical Action Healthcare is financed and regulated by elected government officials. New Organizing Not only does organizing the unorganized bring new opportunities to more workers, but raising the wages and benefits of your employer’s competitors helps you win higher economic standards from your employer. As the last line of defense for our patients, we must ensure that they receive the care they need and deserve. P atient Advocacy NUHW is committed to its watchdog role in the workplace. T raining and Development NUHW conducts regular training sessions for stewards to develop their representation skills. W orkplace Organization The union is strongest when workers elect a steward from every department and every shift and hold regular steward council meetings. The National Union of Healthcare Workers, a member-driven movement for democracy, quality patient care, and a stronger voice in the workplace, is committed to building a model union by dedicating itself to the following principles.ĭemocracy Union members elect union officers, executive board members, stewards, and rank-and-file bargaining team members negotiate and ratify their contracts and vote on changes to the union’s Constitution and Bylaws. NUHW and its predecessor unions, SEIU–UHW and Local 250, have been responsible for many of the most significant gains that healthcare workers have made since Local 250’s founding in San Francisco in 1934.īy standing together with your fellow workers, you are honoring the efforts and sacrifices of previous generations of workers and helping to ensure better pay and working conditions for future generations. These benefits were demanded and won by workers, by union members who fought, sacrificed, and even died in the struggle for workers’ rights. The eight-hour work day, the five-day work week, sick pay, vacation pay, maternity and paternity leave, retirement benefits, health care coverage - none of these were willingly offered by benevolent employers eager to improve the lives of their workers. Many of the workplace standards we now take for granted were initiated, fought for, and won by unions. As a union member, you benefit not only from the gains won by your union in your workplace, but by all unions in all workplaces, going back decades, even centuries. So when the employer attacks the union, the employer is really attacking you and your co-workers and your right to stand together and use your collective power to make your voice heard.īy joining and participating in a union, you are taking part in a movement that has a long history. The union consists of the workers, standing together and speaking with one voice. Together you set your goals, choose your representatives, and negotiate with the employer. One common misunderstanding - one that is often encouraged and reinforced by employers - is that a union is an outside entity, a third party that intervenes between management and workers. Visiting Nurse Association of Santa Cruzįor more than two hundred years workers have learned that they can match the strength of their employer if they stand together as a group.Sutter Care at Home: Sacramento Hospice.Sutter Care at Home: Concord & San Leandro.Seton Medical Center and Seton Coastside.San Rafael Healthcare and Wellness Center.
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