Why do Healthcare Workers Need a Union?

Around the country, growing numbers of hospital employees and nurses are forming unions. We are demanding a voice in the decisions that affect our jobs and our patients.

Forming a union guarantees we are heard because we speak with one unified voice. By working together as a group, rather than as isolated individuals, we can collaborate with our employers to address key issues and concerns in our hospitals and health care facilities, including:

• A voice on the job.A union gives the people who actually do the work a say in how the workplace operates. We can sit down with administrators and supervisors to work out solutions as equals.
• Better staffing and quality care. We can establish better staffing guidelines and more reasonable workloads, preserve professional standards, and stand up for quality patient care.
• Higher pay and regular raises.This means guaranteed rewards for hard work and a pay system that recognizes longevity and the cost of living.
• Benefits we can count on. We can negotiate for the health, retirement, vacation, sick leave, and other benefits our families need most.
• Job security and representation.We can set fair rules and bring employment security into our workplaces. We can also speak out about problems on the job without fear of reprisals and have a seat at the table where cost-cutting, contracting-out, and other decisions are made.

Become a Member of SEIU Local 221!