Labor Unions In The Health Care Industry
Do unions belong in all areas of the workforce? Are there areas that should be excluded, and how do we decide where to place the dividing line? These issues are important as they affect the work place every day. Health Care workers are vital components for the wellbeing of our nation, and encountering situations where they are not available would devastate a system that is crucial. With the Healthcare system reflecting vulnerabilities today, it is a ripe target for labor unions, as the National Labor Relations Board has streamlined procedures for representation elections and many healthcare professionals want their concerns addressed (Hoover, 2015). Labor unions offer a positive addition to the healthcare industry by creating a voice for
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154). In the chart Union Membership – Percent of All Workers, 32% of all workers were union members in 1948. In 2009 union membership has decreased to 12% of the labor workforce, representing a steady decline since 1975.
Although the overall numbers for union membership are lower nationally, healthcare union membership is on the increase.
Hoover (2015) reports, Union interest in health care can be seen in the increase in organizing activity last year. The industry saw 359 representation petitions filed in 2014, up from 314 petitions in 2013. Unions won 77 percent of representation elections in the health care industry last year — their highest success rate in a decade. That rate was 10 percentage points higher than unions’ success rate for all other sectors.
In the Chart of US Workers Represented by Unions, By Industry it shows that Health and Education only accounts for 12.4% of workers that are unionized in the United States …show more content…
When we have longstanding issues in the workplace, frustration forces us to seek answers and guidance from outside sources. This could explain the increase in reported organizing activity seen in healthcare. The grievance of an unsafe working environment that could result in injury to patients is an important issue that faces many healthcare workers when they are not staffed to patient acuity. When compared to production in a factory or plant a persons life is in jeopardy when a healthcare worker cannot perform in a life-threatening situation. Malvey (2010) reports, Unions such as the AFL-CIO and Teamsters, which previously represented mostly manufacturing and factory workers, are now organizing nurses and other health professions in hospital settings (p. 154). With hospitals and management not addressing the chronic issues that healthcare professionals are encountering in the workplace, this is creating an opening for union activity in the healthcare
154). In the chart Union Membership – Percent of All Workers, 32% of all workers were union members in 1948. In 2009 union membership has decreased to 12% of the labor workforce, representing a steady decline since 1975.
Although the overall numbers for union membership are lower nationally, healthcare union membership is on the increase.
Hoover (2015) reports, Union interest in health care can be seen in the increase in organizing activity last year. The industry saw 359 representation petitions filed in 2014, up from 314 petitions in 2013. Unions won 77 percent of representation elections in the health care industry last year — their highest success rate in a decade. That rate was 10 percentage points higher than unions’ success rate for all other sectors.
In the Chart of US Workers Represented by Unions, By Industry it shows that Health and Education only accounts for 12.4% of workers that are unionized in the United States …show more content…
When we have longstanding issues in the workplace, frustration forces us to seek answers and guidance from outside sources. This could explain the increase in reported organizing activity seen in healthcare. The grievance of an unsafe working environment that could result in injury to patients is an important issue that faces many healthcare workers when they are not staffed to patient acuity. When compared to production in a factory or plant a persons life is in jeopardy when a healthcare worker cannot perform in a life-threatening situation. Malvey (2010) reports, Unions such as the AFL-CIO and Teamsters, which previously represented mostly manufacturing and factory workers, are now organizing nurses and other health professions in hospital settings (p. 154). With hospitals and management not addressing the chronic issues that healthcare professionals are encountering in the workplace, this is creating an opening for union activity in the healthcare