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Dear Editor: Nurses Say “No Thanks” to Union
Opinion Mar 05, 2015
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Dear Editor:
May I introduce myself? My name is Gisela Baltazar I have been a staff RN at Huntington Hospital for over nine years, going on ten. I was a travel nurse when I moved to California. My first assignment was in Good Samaritan Hospital; I stayed there for about four years. I liked this hospital. I was offered a full-time job and was promoted to be a charge nurse. It took me a week to accept the position because I only have three-to-four years’ of experience in acute care. And being a charge nurse to nurses who have had over 20-35 years’ experience. The reason I am telling you this is that, this institution is a CNA hospital. I actually lost my job there; I was “sabotaged” and petitioned out as an incompetent nurse. The best part? Most of my co-workers were Filipinos. I thought that we would be working hand-and-hand. I was called in by the Director. I did not get the chance to ask for a union representation because I did not know that I could get one. So I was requested to resign. Imagine! I was the breadwinner in the family. I was devastated by what happened. Three days after I was asked to leave I received an “open house” invitation from Huntington Hospital and was hired on the spot.
This is one of the reasons I do not want the union in this hospital. The culture of a unionized institution is different: the seniority prevails, they can bully and they can remove you from your work if they do not like you. The culture at Huntington is AWESOME. Staff works with each other, we have great respect from ancillary staff to management. We may not be perfect but of all the hospitals that I worked in California as a travel nurse, there is nothing LIKE HUNTINGTON HOSPITAL.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to hear us out.
Sincerely Yours,
-Gisela Baltazar
Dear Editor:
I am a bedside RN at Huntington Hospital. I have been there for eight years and have been a nurse for 23 years. I came to Huntington because it is not union, for one thing, and I want it to stay that way. I was one of the original IStandwithHuntington nurses. One thing that I noticed in your YouTube video is that Victor Gordo stated that he supports the nurses at Huntington Hospital. That is only half true. He only supports the nurses that want the union. Myself and several other nurses have written him and asked that he meet with us so that we can give him our opinion. He has never written any of us back or agreed to meet with us. Shame on him. The news media has never agreed to print our side or talk to us. Do you suppose that we are frustrated? I feel that it took our behavior during the rally to get the attention we deserve. Shame on the media. CNA has come to our units and tried to get nurses to sign cards. They have been in our parking garage to try to talk to us which is not allowed. We are tired of the harassment from them and all the accusations towards our management. We would like to stress that management does listen to us and that we do not need CNA to negotiate for us. We actually are professional and do not need someone to do what we are capable of doing ourselves. Thank you for expressing the desire to hear our side.
-Sonya Balingit, R.N
Dear Editor:
I hope that employees will give careful thought to the decision to unionize Huntington Hospital.
Personally, I am against it.
Here is my reasoning:
-If Huntington is unionized, all will be forced to join. There will be a substantial union fee deducted from every employee’s paycheck each month.
-Unions take away the individual’s freedom of choice. Unions take employees’ money and contribute to causes with which they may not agree. This, in turn, can lead to political corruption.
-Since complaints will, of necessity, be dealt with via a long administrative process, unionized employees will tend to become complacent. Patient care may suffer, and Huntington’s reputation as one of the finest hospitals in the area will be damaged.
-Unions make it much more difficult to dismiss problem employees. Unions create a seniority basis for salaries and job status, which invites carelessness and arrogance.
-Unions tend to see employees as a group. Individual needs and concerns are stifled “for the greater good.”
-Union demands would raise the already sky-rocketing costs of hospitalization for patients.
-Huntington has always been generous with their employees. We have long enjoyed the feeling of a family of employees. We are recognized for long service, given Christmas parties, and enjoy other benefits financed completely by the hospital. If Huntington is unionized, a poisonous “employee vs. administration” atmosphere could well result.
-Unionization may well lead to strikes, rancorous picketing, and loss of salary while striking. Individual freedom is again lost. Even those who are satisfied with working conditions would be forced to walk picket lines. Proper patient care during such times would be diminished.
-The costs of unionization would make it more difficult for Huntington administrators to expand and improve hospital facilities.
-I have worked at Huntington Hospital for twenty-eight years, and have been satisfied with the working conditions there. Those that are not certainly have the option of moving to an already-unionized hospital.
Sincerely,
-Cynthia Cato, R.N.
