Overwhelmed by work and fearing a decline in care, more of the nation's 2 million registered nurses seek support through unions--and California is leading the way.
Last year, the number of unionized nurses working in California hospitals jumped 6%. Last month alone, more than 2,000 registered nurses at seven hospitals--five in Southern California--joined the California Nurses Assn., which has more registered nurse members than any union in the state, a union spokesman said.
Nurses at the newly unionized hospitals said they made the decision only after many failed attempts to combat what they consider a frightening reduction in the quality of patient care largely caused by staffing shortages.
"We were very frustrated going to management and seeing them do nothing," said Marina Bass, a nurse at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center, which joined CNA in April. "Instead of leaving the place we love to work, we have decided to change it."
Nationwide Shortages
Hospitals charge that unions may be overestimating their ability to solve health industry problems and the reach of their organizing efforts.
"In the last couple of years, we have seen union efforts growing, but the majority of nurses in California are non-unionized," said Jan Emerson, spokeswoman for the California Health Care Assn.
Emerson and other hospital representatives said unions are no more equipped to turn things around than anyone else in a state that is suffering disproportionately from a nationwide nursing shortage.
"Unless the unions can produce more nurses . . . I'm not sure they are going to do any better at solving the problem. The nursing shortage is our No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 priorities," said Jim Lott, executive vice president of the Health Care Assn. of Southern California, a hospital trade group.
Of the more than 130,000 active hospital RNs in California, about 41% are unionized, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau--up from about 34% in 1995.
CNA officials said the gains in a recent blitz are unprecedented. "It is the most incredible explosion I've seen in my career," said Rose Ann DeMoro, a 16-year union veteran and executive director of CNA.
Service Employees International Union, the second largest group of organized registered nurses in California, has about 25,000 RN members, a spokesman said.
California is ground zero in organizing efforts because of the nursing shortage here and heavy cost-cutting under managed care, DeMoro said.
