Is it Time for a Nurses Union in Texas?

Last month my nurse manager passed each of us a heartfelt letter from our CEO. As the letter was handed out she said, “Our hospital wants you to be aware of the propaganda which is coming into your mailbox from those wishing to bring a nurses union to Texas.” Not missing a beat, I respectfully submitted that as an adult with a four year university degree I am quite capable of researching the facts for myself. Our CEO also managed a bit of propaganda, stating that we would be held “hostage” to these unions should they strike. That word alone is a strong verbal description which evokes desired emotional response. Nurses are emotional creatures. We chose our profession over other science-based degrees such as genetics or biology because we wanted a career where science could interface effectively with human need. And behind those hands which serve are some quite remarkable brains.

In Texas our earning is comparable to that of school teachers. We do not get a week at Thanksgiving, two at Christmas or a week for Spring Break for psychological restoration. We do not have six weeks in the summer to refuel our souls with a trip to the beach or a dash to Europe. Several years ago I read a study which showed that my earning power at the tenth year anniversary of my entry into nursing was essentially the same as when I had entered nursing. Kind of depressing.

Having never lived in a state which allows a nursing union I cannot speak to the merits or disadvantages of such a system. Yet increasingly, acute care nursing within hospital settings is a disadvantageous work environment for most men and women who choose bedside nursing. The extrinsic pressure being applied by California nursing union leadership moving into Texas hospitals with their surveys and mailed correspondence to Texas nurses means only one thing: hospital administrators would do well to heed the flags. Our workplace needs are not being met within our hospital communities. When the quiet voice of concern is not heard the greater cacophony orchestrated by a union can begin to sound appealing.

There are distinct traits which make us nurses. We are formidable individuals in scrubs and tennis shoes. Moving into our careers we then form a sub-set of identity within our areas of specialty. My own sub-set has resided primarily within critical care environments. Whether working in neuro or cardiac ICU, interventional radiology or PACU my skill level has increased over the years. But I am getting tired. Many hospitals staff with skeletal staffing patterns. The catch phrase is "meeting the numbers". When one nurse calls in sick, the unit falls into crisis. Fifteen minute break twice in an eight hour day? A myth. Financial allocation for continuing education? Another myth. Receiving a coffee cup for Nurses Day? A fact.

There are two undeniable issues facing us: aging Americans and fat Americans. Be grateful if you are aging. It is a gift. Be ashamed if you are 28 years old, weight 300 pounds and I am pushing you on a heavy bed to your room on the floor. Our hospitals are increasingly the recipients of clients who have the co-morbidities of aging and obesity. The healthy folks don’t come to us for their knee scopes or nasal surgeries. They give their bodies to the surgical gods at free-standing Day Surgery Centers. We are left caring for those with complicated surgical outcomes because, well golly gee, they went into surgery with all of those pre-existing medical conditions. Our jobs can work hell with our family obligations. If you are my client and decide to have a "come to Jesus moment" fifteen minutes before my shift ends, I will not be leaving in fifteen minutes. I will stay around until you are stabilized. The other day my eight hour day ended up twelve. My unstable client needed my care until an ICU bed was available. We do not leave a desk with a stack of papers awaiting the next day. We leave a living, breathing and valuable person in the care of a recipient caregiver. That cannot always be accomplished safely and effectively if you, the client, are having a medical crisis and there are not enough nurses staffed for these things.

So who is going to care for you when we are all gone? Nurses are leaving nursing. There are many R.N.'s in the community who no longer pursue nursing. New nurses will be in short supply. Do I support a nursing union? I haven’t researched it enough yet. But extrinsic pressure from the threat of a union will be felt the greatest within hospital communities who do not listen to the quiet and reasonable voices of their nurses begging for change.

Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford@yahoo.com