Advice please on strike assignments

Has anyone been to a NJ strike assignment? I think it would be cool to step in and take care of patients when they need it most, not to mention the pay. Regardless of strike or not, there are still patients in need. I was wondering about the housing, hospital, other experiences. You gotta check it out for $60/hr. I have 15 yrs ER experience and 6 yrs L&D. I am not afraid to step in. Am I missing something? The company is US Nursing.

you are stabbing other nurses in the back by being a strike breaker. the problem in NJ is that the hospital system there wants all its nurses to seek health care at their facilities so the hosp doesnt have to pay an insurance company premiums for its nurses. so, if you go on vacation, or have an embarassing problem, then you have to seek healthcare with all your co-workers knowing you had that problem, in NJ at the hospital or you arent covered.

nurses are caring individuals and want to take care of the patients. being from this area, the patients are the only rewarding thing about working in the tri state area. it has to be something really messed up for a group of nurses to gather together and strike. this is more than just a few dollars more an hour.

you will not necessarily get assaulted but they will make your life miserable. trust me.

I disagree that a nurse would be stabbing others in the back by taking a strike assignment. Someone has to take care of the patients, and by doing so during a strike, the traveler is putting the needs of the patients first. Why should the patients have to suffer?

the nurses are striking because of deplorable conditions made by the hospital. no nurse wants to abandon sick patients.

the nurses arent striking because they want more money. they are striking against the hospital who sees money as its first priority over good nursing care and promoting a good working environment.

in this day and age, nurses need to stick together more often than ever. but, we choose not to. this is why we will never be respected in the workplace. we are too busy eating our young, fighting amongst ourselves, and trying to get each other in trouble to stick together, and stand up for what is right, which is our respectable career. we are the lifeblood of the hospital system and we are regarded as expendable staff.

Edited out

just my humble opinion...

ChrisChirdo wrote:this nurse wants to do this because of the high salary rate, not because he/she cares about the patients!

She clearly stated in her post that she thought it would be cool to step in & take care of patients when they need it the most, so it really isn't fair for you to say that she doesn't care about the patients. If no one steps up to take care of the patients, then what??? Sure they can go to a different hospital, but what about the patient having an acute MI, head bleed, or trauma patients, where precious minutes can be wasted traveling to a facility that has nurses to take care of them? Having travelers at a hospital where a strike is going on can mean life or death to these patients. I can respect the nurses who are striking to improve conditions at their permanent jobs, but at the same time, SOMEONE needs to be there to take care of patients & save lives, and that's where travelers come in.

she also clearly stated the pay rate.

i respectfully disagree with you. :endof:

ChrisChirdo wrote:the nurses are striking because of deplorable conditions made by the hospital. no nurse wants to abandon sick patients.

the nurses arent striking because they want more money. they are striking against the hospital who sees money as its first priority over good nursing care and promoting a good working environment.

in this day and age, nurses need to stick together more often than ever. but, we choose not to. this is why we will never be respected in the workplace. we are too busy eating our young, fighting amongst ourselves, and trying to get each other in trouble to stick together, and stand up for what is right, which is our respectable career. we are the lifeblood of the hospital system and we are regarded as expendable staff.

so, for $60 an hour, you are definately selling out the entire career of nursing. if money is so important to you, then become a strike breaker. i wouldnt sell out the career of nursing for 1000 an hour. this nurse wants to do this because of the high salary rate, not because he/she cares about the patients!

just my humble opinion...

Do you have another suggestion on who should take care of the patients? Should administration do it? We had a nursing crunch once at a hospital I worked at. Actually a census overload and TPTB wanted the case manangers, infection disease nurse etc to work the floors. What a fiasco. They hadn't worked the floors for years. They were more bother than help. They didn't know how to work the IV pumps, the accu-check etc. Some had never hung TPN. Didn't know how to use a pleura-vac etc. We spent more time "orienting" them than we or they did taking care of patients.

As for shipping patients to other facilities. What if they find they like that other facility better. Some strikers have found themselves without jobs PERMENENTLY.

If the issue in NJ is with health insurance for nursing why are the nurses there punishing the patients???? Get your precious union to find you "great" health insurance. Great portable health insurance. After all isn't that what you pay dues for. For the union to work for you not the other way around?:whipping: :whipping:

OPPPS I'm getting down now..............:frustrated:

well personally having gone through 3 -205 strikes in calif. we do not appreciate strike breakers as they are nothing more then hypocrites looking for money..we have to work at the hospital once the strikes over and they are long gone. thankfully the strikes ive been in were resolved to the nurses and patients benefit.yes we were striking for better work conditions which directly benefited ourselves but also the patients as we got better staffing and other conditions toward patient care. so if you are thinking of strike breaking remember that we consider you nothing more then [Edited out]... It takes months of negotiations before a strike is ever considered and this isnt taken lightly as we all lose money,vacation ect,,..we all have families to take care of and are concerned about the patients. but we need a decent wage and work environment to do patient care in. with all of the corporate greed going on. for profit or not . I hope that anyone coming around here will stand up for themselves and coworkers first. anyone who knows anything about corporations realizes that the buck comes first before anything even if they are very profitable . they can publish as much propaganda about patient care and how well everything is but we know the truth as we are on the front line of their lies. so dont go to a striking facility as they are trying to screw the nurses and the patients. go to lasvegas they already have 9/1 ratios if you want to work in that environment.
NUffSaid..

p.s. I wonder how many managers actually post on these forums to secretly advance the corporate line of brainwashing?????????????

DiprivanLover wrote:well personally having gone through 3 -205 strikes in calif. we do not appreciate strike breakers as they are nothing more then hypocrites looking for money..we have to work at the hospital once the strikes over and they are long gone. thankfully the strikes ive been in were resolved to the nurses and patients benefit.yes we were striking for better work conditions which directly benefited ourselves but also the patients as we got better staffing and other conditions toward patient care. so if you are thinking of strike breaking remember that we consider you nothing more then [Edited out]... It takes months of negotiations before a strike is ever considered and this isnt taken lightly as we all lose money,vacation ect,,..we all have families to take care of and are concerned about the patients. but we need a decent wage and work environment to do patient care in. with all of the corporate greed going on. for profit or not . I hope that anyone coming around here will stand up for themselves and coworkers first. anyone who knows anything about corporations realizes that the buck comes first before anything even if they are very profitable . they can publish as much propaganda about patient care and how well everything is but we know the truth as we are on the front line of their lies. so dont go to a striking facility as they are trying to screw the nurses and the patients. go to lasvegas they already have 9/1 ratios if you want to work in that environment.
NUffSaid..

p.s. I wonder how many managers actually post on these forums to secretly advance the corporate line of brainwashing?????????????

First of all, I'm not a manager, never have been- Just a traveler who works in the ER.

Second, what is your solution for the critical patient who needs medical attention IMMEDIATELY??? What would you do if, while you are marching around on your picket line, a person comes in the front door of the ER wih a stab wound, or a mother drives up to the ER entrance & hands you her child, who is not breathing & blue??? Do you say, "I'm sorry, we all refuse to take care of patients because we want better health insurance, so your kid is now going to die."??? What about the MI patient who has precious minutes to get to the cath lab? Too bad for them, there are no nurses to take care of them in the ER or Cath lab, so I guess they'll just have to die too?!? What is you solution for these patients??? So while I can understand that you are striking to improve hospital conditions, who suffers? Sure the hospital loses revenue, but who suffers the most??? The patients!!! Think about it. It is not an exaggeration by any means to say that patients could DIE because of a strike!

Third, I have never worked a strike, [Edited out] For some of us, it is not an option for a hospital to remain un-staffed so that patients have to be turned away or sent to another facility, which, in some cases, could cost them their lives. Bottom line: SOMEONE has to be there to take care of the patients. If not travelers, then who??? Administrators who have been pushing papers for years & are no longer qualified to do actual paitent care??? I don't think so.

DiprivanLover wrote:well personally having gone through 3 -205 strikes in calif. we do not appreciate strike breakers as they are nothing more then hypocrites looking for money..we have to work at the hospital once the strikes over and they are long gone. thankfully the strikes ive been in were resolved to the nurses and patients benefit.yes we were striking for better work conditions which directly benefited ourselves but also the patients as we got better staffing and other conditions toward patient care. so if you are thinking of strike breaking remember that we consider you nothing more then [Edited out]... It takes months of negotiations before a strike is ever considered and this isnt taken lightly as we all lose money,vacation ect,,..we all have families to take care of and are concerned about the patients. but we need a decent wage and work environment to do patient care in. with all of the corporate greed going on. for profit or not . I hope that anyone coming around here will stand up for themselves and coworkers first. anyone who knows anything about corporations realizes that the buck comes first before anything even if they are very profitable . they can publish as much propaganda about patient care and how well everything is but we know the truth as we are on the front line of their lies. so dont go to a striking facility as they are trying to screw the nurses and the patients. go to lasvegas they already have 9/1 ratios if you want to work in that environment.
NUffSaid..

p.s. I wonder how many managers actually post on these forums to secretly advance the corporate line of brainwashing?????????????

Years ago I was told by a good friend who happened to be a therapist. "People don't stay where they aren't happy" I had to add "Sane people don't stay where they aren't happy"

Good luck with your strikes. If you've been in so many why haven't they worked yet?

Stopunions - Home

DiprivanLover wrote:well personally having gone through 3 -205 strikes in calif. we do not appreciate strike breakers as they are nothing more then hypocrites looking for money..we have to work at the hospital once the strikes over and they are long gone. thankfully the strikes ive been in were resolved to the nurses and patients benefit.yes we were striking for better work conditions which directly benefited ourselves but also the patients as we got better staffing and other conditions toward patient care. so if you are thinking of strike breaking remember that we consider you nothing more then a educated whore and you should butt out of our business. It takes months of negotiations before a strike is ever considered and this isnt taken lightly as we all lose money,vacation ect,,..we all have families to take care of and are concerned about the patients. but we need a decent wage and work environment to do patient care in. with all of the corporate greed going on. for profit or not . I hope that anyone coming around here will stand up for themselves and coworkers first. anyone who knows anything about corporations realizes that the buck comes first before anything even if they are very profitable . they can publish as much propaganda about patient care and how well everything is but we know the truth as we are on the front line of their lies. so dont go to a striking facility as they are trying to screw the nurses and the patients. go to lasvegas they already have 9/1 ratios if you want to work in that environment.
NUffSaid..

p.s. I wonder how many managers actually post on these forums to secretly advance the corporate line of brainwashing?????????????

Let me see if I have your stinking thinking correct. Nurses should stand together and support each other correct? [Edited out] Guess that's just a tad bit better than being called stupid eh?

So how are you designating ( gotta use big words to live up to your intreptation of me being educated ya know) MALE nurses. [Edited out]... Maybe you could get your union to do it for you.

P.S. [Edited out]...

DiprivanLover,

We appreciate your participation and I understand you feel strongly about your opinion, however I'd like to ask that you please be professional in your discussions and refrain from personal attacks when making your points.

Calling someone a whore will not be tolerated on this forum. We are all professional adults here and it is expected that we all behave accordingly.

---------

I realize that the whole union vs. strike thing can get out of hand quite fast, but let's please try to remain civil.

I can see both sides of the argument and honestly it's my opinion that Nurses are in a very unique and unfortunate circumstance regarding striking to better their working conditions.

Every accountant in the world could stay home from work tomorrow and we'd get along just fine. Every airline pilot, every school teacher, every lawyer, etc.

Things might be bad, but we'd move on.

If every nurse stayed home tomorrow to go on strike then people would be dieing like crazy! Our population would decrease in a hurry.

I don't believe nurses can go on strike without strike nurses. Would you not feel at all responsible for the patients you were just taking care of who are in the hospital with no one to care for them? If you don't have compassion for them, then I would question your motive for being a nurse in the first place.

I don't think strike nurses hurt the nurses on strike as much as you'd like to believe. It's a temporary solution and an expensive one.

Don't get me wrong, strike nursing is not something I would do, but I can't blame those who do it. I certainly wouldn't call them educated whores. SOMEONE has to take care of those patients.

I think nurses are put in an unfair position. You can't go on strike without someone there to take care of the patients and management knows that, and they use it against the nurses. If nurses go on strike, then YOU KNOW it must be bad.

It's a tough topic to tackle, and I've already said way more than I wanted to so I'll stop. I'll just finish by saying that I can definitely see both sides of it, and if you can't see the other side's viewpoint at all, then you are being closed minded and biased, or you aren't looking very hard.

shortbus wrote:DiprivanLover,

We appreciate your participation and I understand you feel strongly about your opinion, however I'd like to ask that you please be professional in your discussions and refrain from personal attacks when making your points.

Calling someone a whore will not be tolerated on this forum. We are all professional adults here and it is expected that we all behave accordingly.

---------

I realize that the whole union vs. strike thing can get out of hand quite fast, but let's please try to remain civil.

I can see both sides of the argument and honestly it's my opinion that Nurses are in a very unique and unfortunate circumstance regarding striking to better their working conditions.

Every accountant in the world could stay home from work tomorrow and we'd get along just fine. Every airline pilot, every school teacher, every lawyer, etc.

Things might be bad, but we'd move on.

If every nurse stayed home tomorrow to go on strike then people would be dieing like crazy! Our population would decrease in a hurry.

I don't believe nurses can go on strike without strike nurses. Would you not feel at all responsible for the patients you were just taking care of who are in the hospital with no one to care for them? If you don't have compassion for them, then I would question your motive for being a nurse in the first place.

I don't think strike nurses hurt the nurses on strike as much as you'd like to believe. It's a temporary solution and an expensive one.

Don't get me wrong, strike nursing is not something I would do, but I can't blame those who do it. I certainly wouldn't call them educated whores. SOMEONE has to take care of those patients.

I think nurses are put in an unfair position. You can't go on strike without someone there to take care of the patients and management knows that, and they use it against the nurses. If nurses go on strike, then YOU KNOW it must be bad.

It's a tough topic to tackle, and I've already said way more than I wanted to so I'll stop. I'll just finish by saying that I can definitely see both sides of it, and if you can't see the other side's viewpoint at all, then you are being closed minded and biased, or you aren't looking very hard.

Aaron; I hope you don't mind that I did some cleaning up, i.e. editing. ;)

Wow! Even after what looks to be some heavy editing this appears to be quite a heated topic... So why not put my 2 cents in? :smoking2:

A: Nurses are educated health professionals. If you cannot discuss pros & cons, verbalize opinions and present your case, PLEASE retire - you are hurting every nurse with your unprofessionalism

B: I am the oldest of nine children. My father was a Union man. The Union was very good to us when times were very hard and I will always appreciate them for that. This is a statement so that you know my previous experience in summation.

C: A standard in the travel nursing field is that the nurse's hourly rate is roughly 65% of the Agency's hourly fee. ($60.00 / 0.65 = $92.31(hr) x 36(hrs) = $3323.16 per week

D: Average nursing salary per US Department of Labor is $49000/yr ($49000(yr) / 52(wks) = $942.30 per week.

E: At a difference of $2380.86 per 36 hour week per nurse ($3323.16 - $942.31) can it really be said that these nurses are BREAKING the strike?

F: Patients cannot survive without nursing care otherwise they would not be admitted. It is inconceivable that any nurse would want them unattended.

Summary: While I would not cross picket lines due to my personal experience let us summarize the aforementioned bullets. Travel nurses working a strike allow union nurses the luxury of leaving their patients attended while standing up for what they believe are their rights. Hospital administrations are forced to provide labor at an incredible 353% increase while negotiating. This provides temendous pressure on the administraion without hurting the patient. I know that no matter what is said here nurses crossing the line will face tremendous hardships and strikers will feel justified. I only hope for the future of our profession some consideration can be brought to this forum

Neversettle71 wrote:Wow! Even after what looks to be some heavy editing this appears to be quite a heated topic... So why not put my 2 cents in? :smoking2:

A: Nurses are educated health professionals. If you cannot discuss pros & cons, verbalize opinions and present your case, PLEASE retire - you are hurting every nurse with your unprofessionalism

B: I am the oldest of nine children. My father was a Union man. The Union was very good to us when times were very hard and I will always appreciate them for that. This is a statement so that you know my previous experience in summation.

C: A standard in the travel nursing field is that the nurse's hourly rate is roughly 65% of the Agency's hourly fee. ($60.00 / 0.65 = $92.31(hr) x 36(hrs) = $3323.16 per week

D: Average nursing salary per US Department of Labor is $49000/yr ($49000(yr) / 52(wks) = $942.30 per week.

E: At a difference of $2380.86 per 36 hour week per nurse ($3323.16 - $942.31) can it really be said that these nurses are BREAKING the strike?

F: Patients cannot survive without nursing care otherwise they would not be admitted. It is inconceivable that any nurse would want them unattended.

Summary: While I would not cross picket lines due to my personal experience let us summarize the aforementioned bullets. Travel nurses working a strike allow union nurses the luxury of leaving their patients attended while standing up for what they believe are their rights. Hospital administrations are forced to provide labor at an incredible 353% increase while negotiating. This provides temendous pressure on the administraion without hurting the patient. I know that no matter what is said here nurses crossing the line will face tremendous hardships and strikers will feel justified. I only hope for the future of our profession some consideration can be brought to this forum

Neversettle71; Thank you for that very professional posted reply. You provided viewpoints from both sides of the coin while using proper public internet speak.

I like your thought on how those that cross-the-line are in an ironic way helping those nurses on strike. The way I think of it is similar to the NFL with the scabs. We all know once the NFL strike is over most of the scabs will go away. Yet, while they were playing the public still had football to watch, and the owners witnessed the importance of how valuable the regular players to be... not to say the RN's that cross-the-line are not good nurses. However, travel nurses usually leave when the contract is up, too. So, my comparison barely floats, LOL.

BTW, for those of you that vented on this thread earlier don't forget about Rubber Room on this site where venting is more tolerated. ;)

DiprivanLover wrote:well personally having gone through 3 -205 strikes in calif. we do not appreciate strike breakers as they are nothing more then hypocrites looking for money..we have to work at the hospital once the strikes over and they are long gone. thankfully the strikes ive been in were resolved to the nurses and patients benefit.yes we were striking for better work conditions which directly benefited ourselves but also the patients as we got better staffing and other conditions toward patient care. so if you are thinking of strike breaking remember that we consider you nothing more then [Edited out]... It takes months of negotiations before a strike is ever considered and this isnt taken lightly as we all lose money,vacation ect,,..we all have families to take care of and are concerned about the patients. but we need a decent wage and work environment to do patient care in. with all of the corporate greed going on. for profit or not . I hope that anyone coming around here will stand up for themselves and coworkers first. anyone who knows anything about corporations realizes that the buck comes first before anything even if they are very profitable . they can publish as much propaganda about patient care and how well everything is but we know the truth as we are on the front line of their lies. so dont go to a striking facility as they are trying to screw the nurses and the patients. go to lasvegas they already have 9/1 ratios if you want to work in that environment.
NUffSaid..

p.s. I wonder how many managers actually post on these forums to secretly advance the corporate line of brainwashing?????????????

:39: I don't understand. Try working in a state that does not have unions. Lots of corporate B.S., low wages, less that optimal working conditions. I work in an ER that does not even have housekeeping after 3 pm. Our security guard is the maintenance guy. Can you see my point now? I am a very experience ER nurse and can function effectively after about an hour orientation. I can do what I love to do, pocket bunch of money, and not deal with corporate B.S. for a while. Who knows, someone might even appreciate me.

First up ladies....I think there is a place for Unions....not because they are that great or wonderful, but because nursing in general is being forced to go in that direction. You think it is bad in the North or West coast, honey, come on down here to the South! 8-10 patients in normal, understaffing is normal, low wages are normal, the right to fire without cause is normal. Yes, I worked a strike one time when I first started travel nursing. My mind set was the patient care and keeping ya'll's job open for you when it settled. I certainly didn't intend on moving or living there. I see where some of you are coming from tho. As I told a teacher friend of mine....you didn't strike when they did and crossed the line but I didn't see you turning down any of the benefits they reaped from their hard work and yes, they had a right to be angry with you.. If we don't have someone to intervene and put an end to this slavery that medical facilities have us in, then I can't see any future for nursing here. It was such an eye opener when I started traveling and realized that nursing was different out there. Now I can't go back to a regular job, my blood boils when I see how wrong things are here. Someday, you Northern and Western nurses may be coming down here to work a strike....just to hold our jobs for us so the hospital dosen't close and we have no jobs to come back to. Fine with me.... come on, the sooner the better!

Has anyone been called for the strike I have been getting emails from companies trying to recruit .Just interested if anyone else has gotten anything .

blondee817 wrote:Has anyone been called for the strike I have been getting emails from companies trying to recruit .Just interested if anyone else has gotten anything .

What strike, where? There is supposed to be one scheduled for San Francisco. They have been running ads on craigslist for workers.