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Massachusetts Nurse :: May
2005
The benefits of union membership: numerous
and measurable
By Joe Twarog
Associate Director, Labor Education & Training
 What
difference does it make to work in a union facility versus a
non-union facility? Can the differences be quantified and measured?
The evidence illustrates that union workers earn
more. Union members have better pension and health care benefits.
Union members have better sickness and accident benefits. Union
members have contractual protections for safety on the job. Union
members have better job security and protections from discretionary
actions by the employer. Union members have a voice in their
workplace. Union members have access to a grievance and arbitration
procedure to challenge contract violations and unfair treatment.
Union members can advocate for their patients and for quality
health care in a real and enforceable manner. And in fact, according
to a recent study published in the Journal of Nursing Administration
(March 2002, vol. 2, No. 3), patients, specifically patients
suffering a heart attack, have better outcomes in a union facility
compared to a non-union facility.
| Benefit |
Union |
Non-Union |
| Due process |
The union contract provides each
bargaining unit member with access
to "due process" through the grievance
and arbitration procedure. |
No formal grievance process with arbitration. In
some cases, there may be an internal,
self-policing "appeals"process
that is ultimately unenforceable. |
| Wages, benefits and working conditions |
These are negotiated. All members have the opportunity to
improve their working conditions through contract negotiations
at the bargaining table. |
All are unilaterally set by the employer. No avenue
for employee input. Management gives
what it wants to. |
| Hiring, promotions, transfers,
layoffs |
All are governed by the contract. Seniority and
other objective standards apply. |
All are determined unilaterally and subjectively
by the employer. |
| Changes in working conditions |
The negotiated contract establishes all working conditions.
These can only be changed by negotiations between
the parties |
Changes can be made at any time, without warning,
by the employer alone. |
| Discipline |
Any disciplinary action is usually subject to the
"just cause" standard,
meaning that there is a burden of proof on the employer to
justify the discipline. |
Workers are "employees at will" meaning
that they are subject to discipline
and termination for no reason at all, depending on the whims
of the employer. No just cause standard
applies. |
| Weingarten Rights |
These rights allow an employee
to have a union representative present during investigatory
meetings when discipline may result. |
No such rights. Recently,
the National Labor Relations Board reversed its position
and took away these rights in non-union facilities. |
| Voice in the Workplace |
Employees have a real and formal voice in their
working conditions at the bargaining
table. |
Employers may listen to the employees and then do whatever
they choose to do, regardless. |
| Access to Information |
The union, through its officers
and floor representatives, has access to facility information
in order to investigate grievances and for contract negotiations. |
Employees have no rights
of access to information. The employer tells employees what
it wants to. Information is closely guarded. |
| Voice in Patient Care |
Through the contract, RNs can negotiate enforceable language
on staffing levels, mandatory overtime, floating and
other issues that impact directly on patient care and the
quality of health care. |
In some facilities, RNs may be afforded the opportunity to
make suggestions on some issues, that management is
then free to ignore. None of the nurse input is enforceable. |
And, in addition to all of the above, according
to a recent study (Dave Belman, “Unions, the Quality of
Labor Relations, and Firm Performance”), unions translate
into increased productivity for the employer with better training,
less turnover and longer tenure of the workforce. There is a
clear and measurable benefit for labor and management when workers
have a real and legitimate voice in the workplace.
While there are some laws that affect workers’ rights,
such as minimum wage, OSHA, FMLA and ERISA, these are regarded
as the floor in union facilities. That is, the union views these
legal rights as the starting point from which to bargain better
benefits above and beyond what the laws provide. However, in
non-union facilities, these laws are most often the ceiling.
These laws are it. End of story.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
the difference in median weekly earnings for 2004 shows that
there is a 27 percent wage advantage in union facilities (all
industries, public and private) over non-union facilities. Furthermore
the union wage advantage (all based on median weekly earnings),
for women is 33 percent, for African- Americans is 35 percent,
for Latinos is 51 percent, for Asian American is 11 percent.
The U. S. Department of Labor, National Compensation
Survey for Employee Benefits in Private Industry (March 2004)
illustrates the differences in benefits (see chart at right).
It is therefore clear that being unionized makes
a world of difference, in clear and measurable ways. The differences
are dramatic. Furthermore, the benefits of unionization extend
well beyond those of simple self-interest. The contract and the
union make a difference in the lives of its members, as well
as a difference in the patients they care for and serve.
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