My name is Phil Streza and I’ve been a RN at Nationwide Children’s Hospital float pool for about a year and a half now as well as The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center for 8+ years. At OSU, I am a member of the nurse’s Union. When I transitioned to pediatrics, I never once thought about the importance of if Nationwide Children’s was Unionized or not. I took for granted the benefits and dynamics a Union creates and assumed all hospitals would be an equally great place to work as OSU.
I have now seen the difference!
When I received my offer letter from NCH, even after explaining that their offer was roughly 25% less than what I was being compensated at OSU for an equal position, I was informed no negotiation would occur because NCH needs “to be fair to our current nurses”. Although I completely believe in fairness, that was the first sign that staff were penalized as a group without the benefits of advocating and negotiating as a group. If I can’t negotiate for myself because we have to be fair to the group and there is no organization representing the group, who is negotiating for staff?
This leads to suppressed wages, inferior medical insurance, reduced retirement matches and PTO, and other benefits. I have made an informational packet explaining OSU’s compensation/benefits package with a side-by-side comparison to NCH’s package including citations so you can see for yourself exactly what I’m talking about and you can double check my work! If you would like to receive a copy of that packet that uses screenshots of each institutions policies, reach out to the AFSCME Union organizers.
Within my first weeks of orientation at NCH, I noticed there was a huge imbalance of power between management and staff with management wielding all of the power. This would never happen at OSU because of the Union! To be honest, this was when it became apparent to me NCH needed a Union representing nurses and nurse practitioners. At Unionized OSU, I feel that the nurses have a much larger freedom and ability to speak their mind to advocate not only for their employment but also for the wellbeing of their patients! When you know you have the support and backing of a Union, you don’t fear management’s retaliation when you want to place patients’ needs over profits. Because of the Union, staff members feel much more secure and are less likely to throw each other under the bus unnecessarily. Of course, we still hold each other accountable when Unionized, but there isn’t this overarching feeling of a witch hunt I’ve felt on units. The staff here don’t want to lose their jobs because where else can you care for kids? As a result, we don’t want any blame cast upon us out of fear of having to work in the adult world.
Nurses don’t point the finger at each other nearly as much, conversation is much more collaborative with management, and a more hospitable/sustainable work experience is the result further increasing employee retention causing better patient outcomes. One Team is actually achieved with a Union rather than a take-it-or-leave-it or a my-way-or-the high-way culture I’ve witnessed without one. NCH has a monopoly on pediatrics which grants them extreme power as they are effectively the only employer for that patient population. People choose to work here because they want to work with kids but because there isn’t any external competition for our labor, NCH can get away with treating us worse and compensating us less than the value we deliver to the most precious patient population compared to other Magnet hospitals in Columbus like Unionized OSU! If there isn’t any external pressure, there must be internal pressure from a Union!
Having now experienced the difference and impact of being Unionized versus not, I am extremely pro-Union. It is so incredibly obvious to me now that I feel I have a moral and ethical obligation to my patients and fellow healthcare workers to drive the Union at NCH forward because the differences are that drastic! That is the reason why I am so Pro Union. With that, a Union’s strength is in its numbers! WE NEED YOU! If you are concerned about management targeting you, rest assured! I have been extremely vocal and plastered my name everywhere in the Union effort and I’m still here! Please consider taking an active role in the Union effort as the more involved members we have, the greater the wins we will achieve! Please speak with the AFSCME organizers and learn how you can help take an active role!
