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Mark Mix, National Right to Work Committee president, on unions’ involvement in nurses being forced off the job in California, this time over benefi...
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-- -- nurses are battered again a big California union representing more than 3000 nurses.
At ten hospitals protest -- proposed cuts.
To their benefits and their.
They're striking for the seventh time in a little more than a year.
Mark -- the national right to work committee president and he warns that the union is setting the stage for a dangerous situation what do you mean mark.
-- -- Tom you know as these union officials forced workers off the job many of the workers don't want to walk off the job but if they do.
They -- go back to work they can be fine disciplined by their union in -- we represented nurses in Minnesota who wanted to take cure their patients they were forced to cross the picket line.
And they were disciplined by the union we actually had to represent coming get a lot of what would be fine to disciplinary action for actually trying to take care of their patient.
It's that -- going to work crossing to pick a lot essentially exactly the other problem with this and I've seen these strikes -- that it it's amazing how often they come along.
It would -- why so often it seems like most -- -- Get a collective bargaining agreement and its stakes for at least if you -- two or three years.
-- its negotiating strategy you know they announce he's 24 and 48 hour strikes it's happening more -- kind of this these flash -- strike mentality that keeps management off their you know on their heels.
And so now the management -- to go out and find a way to take care patience while the union officials make demands.
It really is a difficult situation and it's something that's developed since 1974.
When.
Nonprofit -- hospitals got into the bargaining business you know prior to that it has been illegal to bargain at nonprofit hospital.
Saw -- -- let me just talk about nurses in general -- mean we have all kinds of critical jobs in our country that you cannot strike whether it's the air traffic -- or some other example.
Nurses seemed like they would fit that bill.
Well that's right in in 1946 when the American Nurses Association decided they were going to adopt a bargaining strategy.
A 1947.
Exempted nonprofit including nonprofit hospitals from bargaining.
It didn't get repealed until 1974 but that was after the 1966 strike in San Francisco that -- more thirty hospitals.
Were struck by unions ended that paved the way for passage of a law that allowed strikes in bargaining in the hospital sector nonprofit hospital sector back in 97.
All right -- that the nurses not familiar with northern California and they've been they've been very aggressive but.
You're Tellme just before we started during the break that that this is a national issue.
That's right we have cases right now in Florida we have a -- we have cases in Texas we have cases that.
Against Tenet and HCA and Kaiser and -- who are all the big health care providers northern California.
Basically what they're doing is they're leveraging management to get what is called -- neutrality agreement in -- is the management agrees to unionize employees without a secret ballot election by -- And now once they get organized -- they come back and leverage and at the bargaining table -- what's happening here in California.
So shame on the management of the hospitals absolutely.
Absolutely but it's it's a no win situation I mean it's a really difficult thing the corporate campaign it waged against these companies.
Is is a death by a thousand cuts they can match from all different angles from religious group so called religious -- -- community groups financial groups they go to your bankers your customers.
And they leverage you.
And then they.
At the very good at what they do and -- look I don't blame the unions for wanting to go out trying to get as much as they can't without killing the golden -- But the golden goose is going to change is gonna be a government program.
The Obama care program how was that the -- impact collective bargaining nurses and all these things at -- ask for or is this a precursor to where they're trying to do.
Get it while they can't.
I think that's right I think the obamacare the full implementation Obama cares gonna lead to a massive unionization drive in health care sector.
How we wrote about this in 2009 prior to the passage law.
If you actually read the 2000 plus page piece of legislation there are numerous opportunities for organized labor to leverage themselves on behalf health care providers across the country so.
This is preparation for that.
Well if you're union.
Leader -- you're thinking well wait a minute this is going to be we're going to be working for this hospital with the hospitals basically a government program.
They're basically is negotiating for -- government deal.
Exactly right we -- -- -- public employees to get that's right we actually indicated the US Supreme Court right now that touches on this issue were presenting a home health care provider woman takes care of her own child in her home in Chicago.
Who's forced to pay fees to the union in order taker her own child my gosh yeah and this is because she takes a Medicare stipend as a supplement to help -- take care her own child.
But that then governor Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn -- said you gotta be paid used to the union in order take care of your child -- that cases the Supreme Court right now.
Rights.
I'll never under deadlock that seems like common sense of the judgment sort -- about what agency will wait and see mark mix thank you very much for bringing as of today Tom my pleasure -- don't you have.
Well forget the fiscal cliff.
Get ready for the climate -- because if the global warming alarmist get their way.
-- tax is coming that will push everyone right over the edge.
