What We Might Lose if We Bring in CNA Incorporated
CNA is a corporation. Their business is convincing you to vote them in so you can pay them dues. We have a lot to lose though, and I think we need to be aware of the risks. Even the NLRB says that “collective bargaining is potentially hazardous for the employee… and they might end up with less benefits.”
First off, our checks will most likely be smaller:
Analysis of earnings now and with a union revised on 3-28-15
Other things to lose:
- Overtime
- Matching contributions to our 403b plans
- Some PTO and EIR
- Bereavement Leave
- Free parking
- PPO insurance mostly paid by the hospital. When CNA negotiated Keck’s latest contract, Keck got switched to an HMO plan, and if the Keck employees are hospitalized at Keck or anywhere else they have to pay 20% of the bill. A co-worker’s 5 week hospital stay, for which the bill was 1 million dollars cost her nothing at Huntington. $0.00. Zero. As an employee of Keck it would have cost her $200,000. Another co-workers hospital stay (2 days) was $25,000. As a Keck employee she would have been responsible for $5000, but as a Huntington employee it cost her nothing.
- We could see our copays go up dramatically.
- We might lose our primary care doctors because most of us see physicians who don’t take HMO insurance. The above might not seem like a big deal when you are young and relatively healthy. Even the youngest, healthiest employees among us can be injured on a hike, a walk around the block or even walking down the stairs in our very own house.
- Discounted food in the cafeteria or increases in prices of the food there.
The labor union corporations need nurses to support the other unions. Membership in other unions has decreased dramatically in other states as they become “Right to Work” states. This means there cannot be compulsory union member ship as a requirement to hold a job. They talk us into it by promising huge raises. CNA contributed almost $5 million dollars to political candidates last year. They “loaned” 5 million to NUHW. They made a $20 million profit. If they are voted in at Huntington, we will pay them almost $2 million a year in dues.
In Gloria Sanchez-Rico, we have a leader who is visionary and passionate about nursing. Let’s see where she takes us. Give her a chance to show what we can do together. Without a third party corporation that doesn’t really care about patient safety, or patients or even the nurses they say they represent.
I stand with Huntington Hospital, our patients, our leaders and our employees. Please show up on April 15th or 16th to vote no. If you need a ride, let us know. We will organize car pools for employees who are not working those days. Email huntingtonnurse@gmail.com.
#iStandwithHuntington #voteNOcna