In light of the ongoing strike of ARH workers in West Virginia and Kentucky, the question has been asked, "Should hospital workers be unionized?"
Lot of factors to consider and think about:
Jeopardizing patient care while workers are on strike.
Administrators adding hardships to hardworking hospital staff employees who only want to keep up the changing economy (high gas prices with no raises, etc.)
Is it right for union workers to block replacement workers from coming in to do their jobs and take care of patients?
Workers at another major hospital in East Kentucky are non-union and seem to enjoy solid treatment and are paid on an experience scale, where your experience dictates your wage, rather than how the union workers are all paid the same, no matter your qualifications or experience.
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This is an important subject and hopefully a resolution will be reached quickly. I personally know many workers who are on strike right now and I pray for them and their families.
I know a few workers that are out of jobs while this strike is going on so I'm hoping that it gets resolved very quickly. One of them just bought a new house and has a baby so they need to have him working as soon as possible. The patients need someone to care for them so here's to a speedy resolution.
I just find this to be a touchy issue altogether. Like you Tribe, I have family that are involved in the strike and you hope for a speedy resolution. But you have to wonder if the hospital would be better as a whole without a union? Now that's not an option in this case, but it does poise an interesting question.
I believe the union workers are wanting to improve pensions, start standard rates and benefits for new hires, along with sick time, disability and holiday pay issues as well.
Nursing homes and hospitals all seem to want to go union lately. I haven't had time to talk to him about it so I don't really know why it all has happened. I just want him to be able to go to work so he can bring in money to pay for their new house, have enough food on the table for his family, be able to pay for their car. A big, new house with a young family. Now is not the time to jerk the carpet out from under their feet.
thetribe Wrote:Nursing homes and hospitals all seem to want to go union lately. I haven't had time to talk to him about it so I don't really know why it all has happened. I just want him to be able to go to work so he can bring in money to pay for their new house, have enough food on the table for his family, be able to pay for their car. A big, new house with a young family. Now is not the time to jerk the carpet out from under their feet.
They want to go union cause they are not getting treated fairly.
Do you all realise that if it wasnt for the Unions and the forefathers that fought for better wages and working conditions that we all would be working for $2.00 per hour
The Fan Wrote:They want to go union cause they are not getting treated fairly.
Believe me, at ARH the union employees are treated very, very fairly. The points of the contract that the union is fighting are the benefits and pay scale. Right now the pay scale is in need of realignment (some unskilled positions are getting paid far above the normal pay rate - and above some management positions for that matter). As for the benefits, the new benefit system in my opinion is not as good as the old one, but the system was put into effect for management in January. So it is not like certain things are being pushed on the union that management employees do not have to do. In the past, the union has had paid time off and overtime that management employees were not entitled to. Management is being portrayed in a bad light with the strike, there are two sides to the story. I just hope that come Wednesday (when they go back to the bargaining table) that an agreement can be reached.
Phoenix Wrote:Believe me, at ARH the union employees are treated very, very fairly. The points of the contract that the union is fighting are the benefits and pay scale. Right now the pay scale is in need of realignment (some unskilled positions are getting paid far above the normal pay rate - and above some management positions for that matter). As for the benefits, the new benefit system in my opinion is not as good as the old one, but the system was put into effect for management in January. So it is not like certain things are being pushed on the union that management employees do not have to do. In the past, the union has had paid time off and overtime that management employees were not entitled to. Management is being portrayed in a bad light with the strike, there are two sides to the story. I just hope that come Wednesday (when they go back to the bargaining table) that an agreement can be reached.
Thank you for your insight. Very interesting.
Both sides declined to speculate on how long the strike will last, but history indicates it will not be short.
In 1986, the last time there was a strike, it lasted 91 days. A 1974 strike lasted 119 days.
http://www.kentucky.com/263/story/32831.html
3 months+ without the usual health care workers for the patients and 3 months without pay for the workers will put people in a bind though. Strikes aren't usually crazy long around here but I hope that they can work out their differences as quickly as tomorrow.
This strike won't last 30 days, from what I've been told.
What we need is health care reform...
the cost of health care has big
tentacles that reach into these
issues. Companies seek to reduce
costs by cutting benefits, but
they are slow to increase wages...
if a guy is making the same money but
having to pay more for his insurance,
he's got less money in the bank. Let's
face it: people in the middle get squeezed
and people on the bottom get crushed. For
the most part, the earners at the top of
the cake get most of the icing...
Listen all the strike is doin is hurting our communities. The workers who are striking were gettin paid better than any other healthercare in our region offers. Their argument over insurnace makes no sense considering that an employee gets 100% taken care of at ARh facilities and only has to pay 20% at other hosiptals. Find a place in the nation that does that for their workers. If this strike last like it did in 87' all it will do is end jobs. Mann and Wise hosptials both closed due to that strike. Almost 900 jobs were lost. Also after the strike the protesters took the same offer they was handed before. Now if the strike lasts what would that do to the communities of West Liberty and McDowell if those hospitals close????
I don't think that this situation is too dangerous because if there was a problem then the Government has the ability to step in and force them to work I do believe.
Beef Wrote:I don't think that this situation is too dangerous because if there was a problem then the Government has the ability to step in and force them to work I do believe.
Well let's hope that its not that bad.