Union formation at a community hospital following wage stagnation

¶ … nurses noted in this case study "only wanted to scare management." Indeed, they did that and then some because a union was formed in reaction to what those nurses ended up doing as a means to "scare" management. The basic background of the case is that there a small group of nurses at a large community hospital. They were unhappy about their work situation, conditions and stagnant wage levels. Beyond that, there has also been a change in management recently at the hospital and they were uneasy about that as well. Their wages and salary levels were stagnant but their workload was actually seemingly going up. When management was approached about the situation, they did not seem to care all that much and nothing changed. What followed next is that there was a union formation effort over six weeks. There was eventually a vote held for the formation of the union at that location and the vote was beyond the two thirds majority required to put the union in place. The small collective of nurses that started the movement noted that they just wanted to "scare" the managers and they did not seem to have the intent of going as far as they did.

Major Problem & Secondary Issues

The general major problem, at least in the view of the nurses, is that the nurses at the hospital were being paid the same amount of money to do less work and there seemed to be a general staffing shortage as the hospital. While the following is not explained, there could be other issues like poorer patient care, financial stressors at the hospital and so forth. The change in management may indicate that there is lack of continuity when it comes to who is running things or even who runs the hospital in the first place. Any number of these (or a combination of them) could lead to situations where the hospital feels that they cannot or do not have to give raises to the nurses involved. What would have to be identified are the effects (in all their forms) of the staffing levels and why they perhaps should be raised and why perhaps they are NOT being raised (New Jersey, 2015).

Role

In terms of the role that the author of this response would take, it would be the mouthpiece of the nurses. Since the speaking with management did not yield anything, there should be one more attempt that is a little more concerted and stern. The author of this report would address the major concerns brought forth by the nurses and it would be stressed that the "status quo" is only going to lead to some major issues if there is not at least some "back and forth" between management and the nurses. The refusal of the management to admit or discuss what is going on could be their way of enforcing "need to know" or there could be some real problems. If the nurses are in danger of being laid off or otherwise restructured, they do really have a right to know because it impacts their livelihood and careers. It would all be in how the mouthpiece of the group approaches the management. It should not be confronting or insubordinate. Indeed, it should be professional and out of legitimate concern. While the labor organization efforts that actually ensued is a solution of sorts, it also opens up some bad possibilities and could make things even more contentious (Cohen, 2011).

Strengths & Weaknesses

A strength of the organization is that they seem to have nurses that care. They are not proverbial rats deserting the ship. There is a shortage of nurses in many places so those nurses could find jobs elsewhere. Another strength is that the nurses are united and seem to have cohesion. What the organization is missing is explaining why the raises and hiring is not occurring. It is one thing to listen but it is another to explain why management is doing (or not doing) what they are doing and the latter seems to be missing (Cohen, 2011). A weakness is that the organization is unable or unwilling to level with the nurses and tell them why they are clamming up. Indeed, it could be because there are some heavy concerns that really should be discussed or it could be a cocky "need to know" sort of attitude. Regardless, another weakness is that the management style at the hospital is clearly not where it could or should be.

Evaluation

In terms of evaluation of any solution, whether the pay remains stagnant and/or the nursing staffing remains short would be the main yardsticks of how things are going. The level of patient care, the financial situation of the hospital and so forth would also be things to keep an eye on. Obviously, the hospital management's approach was a bad one but the nurses seem to have opened their own little mess as they sort of escalated the situation when the union was formed. Nowadays, the stakes are even higher and, at least so far, the root issues have not been identified or addressed. Further, the hospital in question is a community hospital which means community resources (or even taxpayer dollars) are looped in and that obviously is going to have an effect on who is paid what and why. In short, the management needs to come to the table (union or not) and explain themselves or the pain will begin (or expand) in one form or another (Shedlock, 2010).