“Nurses union fray splits town” details what nurses have endured at Northern Michigan Hospital but is an isolated situation and is not typical of what happens when nurses choose to form a union so they can more effectively advocate for their patients.
The vast majority of the 350,000 nurses nationwide who have formed unions have been able to negotiate union contracts with significant improvements in hospital policies without being forced to go on strike.
The small percentage of nurses who did have to go on strike as a last resort did so on behalf of–not at the expense of–their patients.
At a time when too many medical decisions are being made by bean counters instead of medical professionals, nurses are forming unions to protect the quality of patient care. On those rare occasions that they find themselves in a picket line, it is almost always with the full support of their communities–who know that nurses, not hospital administrators, are looking out for their interests.
