Voting “Yes I Want the CNA?” Read This

This is for the RNs who are honest and hardworking and who really care about their patients.

Look at what happened at the San Francisco area Sutter during two years of contract negotiations.

NINE strikes by CNA, including one on Christmas Eve and one on another holiday and three within a 60 day period. Look it up. http://healthcarelaborwatch.org/cna-agrees-to-new-contract-with-sutter-after-9-strikes/

Some points to consider here

  1. Striking on Christmas Eve. Are you willing to do this to your patients as well as your family? Stand outside the hospital with signs on Christmas Eve? When you could be home with your family?  I’m talking to those of you who are honest and hardworking and think you will have a better environment with the CNA than you do now.
  2. Are you willing to lose three days pay for a one day strike?
    • Since staffing agencies require 3 day contracts hospitals replace you for three days, you don’t will not be allowed to work for 3 days.
    • You can’t take PTO. CNA never pays strike benefits because those are only paid when a strike is longer than 3 days and CNA only calls 1 or 2 day strikes. Look it up. http://truthaboutcna.com/cna-finances.html (need to find the section called strike benefits- it is zero year after year. CNA has NO money in it’s strike fund).
    • In 60 days, you would be out nine days of pay. That is 1.5 paychecks. Can you afford that?
    • On top of that, if you go on strike the hospital is allowed to permanently replace you. Well, that’s one way to get rid of bad apples, but you are not a bad apple, are you? So you might have a job to come back to or you might not.
  3. Planning to not be a member of the union so you can cross strike lines? 
    • You will still pay dues for the amount that CNA calls “bargaining costs.” That’s over 90% of the $140 a month or $126 a month.
  4. Dues:
    • It’s true. You don’t pay dues until there is a contract. The first time.
    • If the contract expires and it takes two years to renegotiate like it did Sutter, you still pay dues during that two years, but you get no raises.
  5. Raises: At Sutter the union settled for raises of “up to 6% over two years.” Right now you can get a raise of up to 7% over two years at Huntington. That also sounds a lot like a merit increase, which is not something the lazy nurses who are CNA supporters say they want. But you do, right? Because YOU are hardworking and honest and actually really care about your patients and your evaluation reflects that, right?  
  6. Ostracized: This is what has happened on many units to the people who have made it known that they will vote no. So if you plan to change your vote, keep it quiet if you want help pulling up your patients in bed or help to turn them. It is completely shameful that some of our nurses have chosen to act in this manner towards nurses who have voiced the opinion that we do not need a union. I had a nurse talk to me in tears the other day as she related the cold shoulder she gets from everyone on her shift. How is this professional or in the best interests of our patients? You, the conscientious, honest and hard working professional have not done this. Did you know this was happening? This is a picture of what we will become if we vote in the union.

One final word of caution. If you ask the CNA these questions they will tell you half truths and lies. Look up what I’ve said on your own. Look anywhere but on the CNA website. The truth is out there. It’s not too late to look it up. Do this before you vote. Do this because it matters that you have all of the information before you check yes or no. 

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