Healthcare Worker Unions

Paper Summary:

The paper outlines the background and history of labor unions in the United States. The paper then explores the advantages and disadvantages of unionized labor for healthcare workers and hospital management. The paper concludes that unionized labor in the healthcare industry provides more advantages than disadvantages for healthcare workers, employers and patients as well.

Outline:
Background and History of Labor Unions in the United States
The Advantages of Unionized Labor for Healthcare Workers
The Advantages of Unionized Labor for Hospital Management
The Disadvantages of Unionized Labor for Healthcare Workers
The Disadvantages of Unionized Labor for Healthcare Employers
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Generally, the construction, railroad, mining, and automobile manufacturing industries adopted the unionized labor model the most extensively, but infiltration by organized crime into labor unions -sometimes at the highest levels - cooled the nation's initial enthusiasm with organized labor. The unions subsequently enjoyed something of a resurgence in the 1960s and 70s, peaking in national membership in the early 1980s. Public servants like teachers, police, and firefighters in particular had increasingly adopted unionized labor by then (Nevins & Commager 1992). Since that period, union membership as a percentage of the national workforce has gradually declined, partly because of the collapse of the automobile and steel industries in the Midwest, but also because federal and state legislation of workers' issues have provided better vocational environments and benefits than previously available for non-unionized workers."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Daft, R. (2005) Management (7th ed.) Mason: Thomson South Western.
• Nevins, J., Commager, H. (1992) A Pocket History of the United States.New York: Pocket Books
• Seago, J., Ash, M. (2002) Registered Nurse Unions and Patient Outcomes. Journal of Nursing Administration. 32(3):143-151,
• Swan, J., Harrington, C. (2007) California Nursing Facility Quality and Union Environments. Journal of Aging and Health, Vol. 19, No. 2, 183-199
• Taylor, C., Lillis, C., LeMone, P. (2005) Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Nursing Care. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins.

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