Posted on 09/21/2011 12:40:28 PM PDT by NoGrayZone
My sister works for a hospital that was just taken over by LIJ. Apparently, LIJ, who is non union wants some changes made to the union benefits.
The union representing the RN's supposedly "took a vote" and decided the majority wanted a strike, to begin on 9/30/11.
LIJ said "go ahead" and have temp RN's to cover their shifts. In speaking w/ my sister I asked how many nurses she spoke with regarding this strike.
She stated most that she spoke with were against it. On her floor alone, there was 1 person saying "heck yeah", while the other 9, including herself said hell no.
So, if by a small margin, 1 out of 10 were for the strike. The RN's are all freaking out because in most cases, they are the sole bread winners in their family.
My sister inquired about not going on strike with the rest of them and was told she could do it.....but once the strike was over she would be fired.
We know nothing about unions and how they work. We have no idea whom to speak to and get legal counseling.
Any FReepers out there who may have been in such a situation? We don't know where to turn to for help. She can't afford to strike nor lose her job.
She is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Thanks. I feel awful for my sister. There seems to be no pretty way out for her.
Thanks for the links. I have bookmarked them for later reading...as well as to send to my sister.
We’re in NY...a forced to unionize state =(.
From http://www.nrtw.org/a/a_7_p.htm
Question: What if I want to work during a strike?
Answer: If you want to work during a strike you must be certain that you are not a union member if you wish to avoid union discipline.
Many courts have held that unions have the power to discipline their members. This discipline can include imposing a significant fine upon and then suing you to enforce the payment of the fine. If you wish to avoid consequences like that, you cannot remain a member of the union and cross the picket line.
A series of questions and answers about a strike that apply to almost every private sector employee covered by the National Labor Relations Act follow.
Should you work during the strike? That is a personal decision and none of the Foundation’s business. Under the National Labor Relations Act you have a right to strike as well as a right not to strike. If the employer continues to operate during the strike, you need to decide what to do based on your own needs. Don’t let anyone coerce you one way or the other.
Can the union fine you if you work during the strike? Probably, if you do not resign from membership before going back to work. As a union member, you are bound by the union’s constitution and bylaws, which in most unions provide that members who work during a lawfully-called strike can be fined. Such fines can be expensive and may be collectable in state court.
Should you resign from membership if you work during the strike? Yes. Nonmembers are not subject to a union’s constitution and bylaws and cannot be fined or otherwise disciplined for working during a strike. If you have not yet crossed the picket line and wish to avoid all fines, do not cross the picket line until after the union receives your resignation,or until the day after your resignation is postmarked if you send it by mail (use certified mail so that you can prove the date of the postmark). Once the union is on notice that you have resigned, it cannot lawfully impose any form of discipline on you for anything you do after you resigned. That does not mean that someone might not try to bring internal union charges against you for post-resignation conduct; it does mean that the union’s attempts to fine you will be unsuccessful.
Can the union constitution prohibit you from resigning during the strike? No. The federal courts are unanimous in holding that union restrictions on the right to resign are unlawful and unenforceable under the National Labor Relations Act.
What about the union shop agreement? Doesn’t it require you to be a member to keep your job? No. Under the National Labor Relations Act, you do not have to be an actual member to keep your job. You need only pay the amount of the union’s dues or, if you notify the union that you object to use of your money for other purposes, that portion of the dues that is used for collective bargaining and contract
administration.
Moreover, if you are employed in a Right to Work state, a union shop agreement is unenforcable and you cannot be required to pay anything to the union if you are not a member (unless you are a sailor or work on certain federal installations). Click here to see a list of the Right to Work states.
For an explanation of your rights as an employee in a Right to Work state, click here.
If you worked during the strike before resigning, does resignation protect you from all fines? No. The union can fine a nonmember for pre-resignation conduct, but not for anything done after it receives a resignation. Fines usually are based on the number of days that a member works during a strike. The courts generally hold that a fine cannot be excessive. What is excessive is open to question, but you would have a good argument that the fines are excessive if they exceed the amount earned during the period before you resigned.
If you resign, what rights will you lose? You will not lose any rights under the collective bargaining agreement, for example, seniority. The union must represent you fairly in bargaining and grievance handling whether you are a member or not. You will lose any rights under the union’s constitution which are available only to members, such as voting in union elections and on ratification of the collective bargaining agreement. You may also lose your right to continue in any union pension plans, but not pension plans funded partly or completely your employer under the collective bargaining agreement.
If you resign, can you rejoin the union after the strike is over? This depends upon the union and its constitution and bylaws. The union is not required by law to permit you to rejoin. Quite often unions refuse to permit so-called strikebreakers to rejoin. We are aware of situations where unions have required strikebreakers to pay large fines to rejoin. You should assume that, if you resign and cross the picket line, you will not be allowed to rejoin the union. However, if you do not rejoin, the union still must continue to represent you fairly in collective bargaining and contract administration, and you will have the same rights as members under the collective bargaining
agreement.
How do you resign? Click here if you would like to see a sample union resignation letter. You may eventually have to prove when your resignation letter was received, so you should either send it by fax and retain the confirmation slip from the facsimile machine or by certified mail, return receipt requested, or deliver it to the union officer designated in the union’s constitution to receive resignations (for example, the Teamsters constitution designates the Secretary-Treasurer of the local union) by hand with a friendly witness present.
What rules apply if the union attempts to fine you? Under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, which contains a Bill of Rights for union members, you may not be fined or otherwise disciplined unless you have been served with written specific charges, given a reasonable time to prepare your defense, and afforded a full and fair hearing. Within these limitations, the rules with regard to disciplinary action are determined by the constitution and bylaws of each union.
What should you do if specific charges are served on you by the union, if you resigned before you went back to work? If you have clear proof that you resigned prior to going back to work, immediately make such evidence available to the union and ask it to dismiss the charges before the hearing. If the union persists under those circumstances, it will violate the law, and you should notify the Foundation immediately so that a Foundation attorney may further advise you how to proceed.
What should you do if specific charges are served on you by the union, if you did not resign before you went back to work? If you went back to work during the strike before resigning, or worked and never resigned, you should attend and raise any defenses you might have at the hearing scheduled by the union. You should also exhaust any appeals that might be available under the union’s constitution and bylaws. Possible defenses are that the proposed fines are excessive or that you were told that you could not resign during the strike. You should consult an experienced attorney to determine what defenses you might have.
How can the union collect its fines if it finds you guilty for working during the strike while still a member? The union cannot have you fired if you refuse to pay fines. The National Labor Relations Act prohibits discharges for nonpayment of fines and penalties. The union’s only recourse is to sue or the amount of the fine in state court, which it could lawfully do. You would have a right in such a lawsuit to raise any defenses you raised in the union’s internal proceedings, provided that you exhausted your internal union appeals.
What should you do to protect yourself from harassment and violence? Whatever your decision with regard to resigning and working during the strike, you should keep as low a profile as possible and attempt to maintain existing cordial relationships with your fellow workers on both sides of the picket line. Avoid the zealots! Should you return to work, keep in close touch with other employees who are working during the strike and give each other support and share information. Also, if you work during the strike, you should get an unlisted telephone number, keep a diary of all strike-related threats and incidents of harassment and violence (who, where, what, when, names of witnesses, etc.), and take photographs of your private property, such as home and car, so that you can document any damage should you become a victim of union violence. If you begin to receive harassing phone calls, you should consider installing Caller-ID on your home phone and learn how to use any call-tracing services of your local phone company. You should report all threats and incidents of harassment and violence to your employer and, if threats of or actual violence are involved, the local police. If you are the victim of threatened or actual union violence, please notify the Foundation if you would like to have help.
If you are the victim of union violence and would like to request help from Foundation attorneys, fill out this form.
Above is from http://www.nrtw.org/a/a_7_p.htm
That's the thing. These RN's are willing to pay more for what they are getting. It's the union who is fighting it. Doesn't sound like their union has thought this through.
Practically, there is nothing she can do about it. She doesn’t have the finances to challenge the union and has no assurance of help from her employer.
Yes, I’ve been in exactly the same situation.
Long Island. Huntington Hospital.
Thanks for the info. As soon as she calls and gives me an update I will tell her about NLRB!
UPDATE******* On the phone w/ my sister. LIJ and the union just struck a deal 4:30 this am to keep things as is.
There will be no strike.
Complaining about the Union to the NLRB will be of no Value, it is run by the Union.
A petition for decertification can only be filed with the NLRB within 60 days of the expiration of an existing contract. Rarely does the timing of a negotiating period line up in the employees favor as unions will often push the negotiations beyond the expiration and call a strike after it is too late for the members to file a decertification petition.
We had this very scenario occur in my business as our negotiations with Teamsters did not conclude until 18 months after they began, and a full 16 months after our 3 year contract, signed in 2007, expired.
This was the sixth contract I have personally negotiated with Teamsters and I don’t know if I have the patience to do another. It is like a perpetual root canal.
PF
Here is a letter I wrote to my Drivers because of a threatened strike by Teamsters in which some employees did not want to participate. This letter, vetted by my attorney from Ice Miller, explains a lot of things your sister should know.
As I stated in an earlier post, I have negotiated six contracts with Teamsters with the last one being particularly difficult. I advise your sister to study her rights to protect herself.
PF
May 27, 2010
Dear McFarling Driver,
Recently, some of you in the Teamsters bargaining unit have asked if you will lose your seniority or be fired if you cross the picket line and come to work while your unit is on strike against McFarling Foods. We previously informed you that the Union may fine or even expel you from its membership if you cross the picket line before properly resigning from Union membership. However, in the last few days we have received questions from some of you about whether, after a new contract is agreed upon between McFarling and the Union and the strike ends, you will be put at the bottom of the seniority list or fired because you resigned from the Union during the strike.
We cannot advise you as to what to do. We can tell you what your rights under the law are and leave the decision up to you, knowing what your rights are.
If you are a member of the Union at the time you cross the picket line, the Union can attempt to impose a fine on you for crossing the picket line as long as you remain a member. However, if you wish, you can resign your membership in the Union. You can resign by notifying the Union in writing, by return receipt mail, of your desire to resign. The resignation will not take effect until the day after the resignation letter is postmarked.
Once you have effectively resigned, the Union cannot fine you for crossing the picket line and coming to work. The Union cannot cause you to lose your seniority or your job because you resigned from the Union. Under the law, regardless of what the next collective bargaining agreement may say, you cannot be required to be an actual member of the Union to keep your job. (However, as was true under the expired agreement, the next agreement may require you to continue to pay your dues to the Union in order to remain employed in the Teamsters bargaining unit at McFarling, even if you are no longer a member of the Union.)
In summary, as you were informed in a letter a few weeks ago, you have a legal right to cross a picket line and come to work if that is what you want to do. No one, including the Union, has a legal right to interfere in any way with your right to come to work.
Threats of harm to you or your property are illegal and should be reported to the proper authorities if they occur.
Secondly, regardless of what you may have been told, the Union cannot cause you to lose your job or your seniority for exercising your right to come to work or for resigning from the Union.
As you are well aware, you have a protected right under the National Labor Relations Act to engage in a strike over terms of a new collective bargaining agreement. We cannot tell you how or when to exercise such rights. We cannot tell you what to do — only you can make that decision.
Sincerely,
Charles McFarling
VP Operations
One union place I worked in went on strike. The newly hired employees (probational) were under the impression that just because the contract was voted down, at the union’s urging, that they could go back to work the next day.
Not so.
No contract, no work.
They were out for months and finally accepted a few nickels in compensation and better retiree benefits.
I felt really bad for these guys who really just wanted a job.
In the mean time I got to cross the picket lines daily until my project was done and I took my happy butt elsewhere.
Unions are in it for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many....so ironic!
The ‘work through the strike, get fired after’ is usually part of the contract the union makes with the company. It’s to keep all the workers in line with the union. Supposedly the union dues are to make a strike fund to cover people during strikes, but it isn’t as much money as a paycheck.
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