With the current nursing shortage, union representation might be very important in improving the workplace conditions and benefits for nurses in understaffed facilities. However, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 10.7% of American workers belong to a union as of 2016, which is down from 20.1% in 1983. Also, according to these same statistics, only 18% of RNs belong to a union.

However, regardless of your feelings towards nurses unions, or unions in general, it’s important to choose a stance sooner than later. You never know, you may be forced to answer the question: “Should I join a union or not?”

A union is an organization of one or several types of workers, whose objective is to represent the collective interests of their peers, either inside of a workplace or throughout their state or nation. In most cases, unions use collective bargaining to secure better working conditions, which could include better benefits and higher wages.

In short, a union is a group of working people who are dedicated to protect the interests of a large group of workers. The union collects information from the people they represent and condenses them into concise proposals, which they then take to the respective authorities. Also, the most important form of leverage that unions hold against their employers is striking. However, strikes must be used with caution as employers can simply replace the workers on strike with completely new ones.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of joining a nurses union:

Pros

• Better Pay: This is why most opt to join a union. These organizations often fight for better salaries, especially in positions that are severely understaffed, or where the employees are forced to labor in sub-optimal conditions. Some sources claim that unionized nurses can earn from $200 to $400 more per week than nurses who don’t belong to a union.
• Job Security: For non-union nurses, who are subject to “at will employment”, they can be dismissed from the job at any time for any reason (or no reason), or have their hours cut at the behest of the management. However, unionized contracts usually prohibit these cuts, and forbid the dismissal of an employee for arbitrary reasons. Furthermore, some union contracts also feature guaranteed pay rises based on antiquity in the workplace.
• Improved Workplace Conditions: As we mentioned above, most unions fight for the improvement of the conditions in the workplace. For nurses, this translates to better nurse-to-patient ratios, as well as better safety protocols, access to all the appropriate safety and hygiene equipment, and the dismissal of mandatory overtime. This is important because, according to several studies, poor workplace conditions are one of the main reasons that are driving the current nursing shortage, causing nurses to take mandatory overtime, which makes them experience musculoskeletal pain, stress, and fatigue.
• Legal Representation: In case a nurse is in breach of protocol and requires disciplinary action, a union representative will always be there to ensure that the employee is treated fairly. Unions often provide representation to address grievances for when a nurse is mistreated, either physically or verbally, in the workplace, so that their complaints reach the appropriate authorities.

Cons

• Union Fees: Most unions charge a percentage of the nurse’s salary as “union dues” for their representations, which is the reason why most employees would rather remain non-unionized.
• Job Risks: Some employers do everything in their power to dismiss an employee for joining or trying to organize a union, which is illegal. However, it’s difficult to prove that these are the reasons for their dismissal in a hearing. Also, if the union calls for a strike, the nurse is at risk of being permanently replaced by other individuals willing to cross the picket line.
• Unpaid Strikes: Speaking of strikes, whenever a union calls for a strike, this means that the nurse is forced to skip work without pay. While some unions have a strike fund for when this happens, this is usually the exception and not the norm.
• Difficulty to Remove Troublesome Employees: The downside of legal representation at the moment of a dispute is that this applies to everyone, including the bad eggs. This means that it’s particularly difficult to fire an underperforming unionized employee due to their contracts.
• Seniority-based Promotions: In most cases, unionized workers are promoted due to their seniority, instead of for what they “bring to the table.” In this sense, a nurse that has been working hard to achieve a promotion might come up short to an underperforming employee who has simply been there for a longer time.

Regardless of your thoughts on unions, there may come a time when you are forced to decide between loyalty to the employer, or loyalty to your fellow peers. If this happens to you, it’s important to always know the pros and cons of unions before making the ultimate decision.