Exam 14: Collective Bargaining and Unions in Today’s Workplace

A nurse has been asked to serve as the charge nurse on the evening shift. The agency where the nurse is employed is considering unionization. If the charge nurse position is accepted, this nurse:

It is important to realize that nurses may seek unionization if: (select all that apply)

Mandatory overtime and reduction in RN staff have resulted in decreased client satisfaction and a sentinel event. Management is unwilling to discuss a change in staffing, and collective bargaining interest is sparked. A nurse is approached to sign a union authorization card. If signed, the card:

Physical therapists are represented by a union, nurses are represented by a separate union, and pharmacists have yet another union within a single agency. This type of union representation is known as:

A group of nurses are assembling outside a hospital protesting the use of foreign nurses after several nurses were terminated due to what the hospital called recurring "decreased census." The nurses carry signs with messages asking potential patients to seek care elsewhere. The local newspaper picked up the story, and the hospital is receiving negative press. The nurses are participating in:

A hospital is seeking a 2.5% wage reduction for all nurses as part of a new balanced budget plan; however, the plan provides for raises for upper-level management. This plan resulted in a call for a union to protect the nurses. When the union representative arrives, what questions should the nurses ask? (select all that apply)

A nurse has heard rumors that other nurses are interested in unionizing but knows little about the purpose of unions. The nurse's first action is to:

In recent Gallop Polls, nurses were voted as the most honest with the highest ethical standards of all professions. How does this degree of professionalism affect nurses' desire to participate in organized strikes?

Historically, what movement most influenced unionization in American health care agencies/hospitals?

A large corporation employs nurses all over the United States. Nurses in one agency learned that fellow nurses in another agency are striking because they are required to work 16-hour shifts to cover for nurses who have left due to unsafe staffing practices. The union of the nonstriking agency nurses decides to stop work to support the nurses who are striking; thus, this union:

A group of nurses interested in unionizing decides to contact the largest union in the United States representing registered nurses, which is the:

Nurses in a nonprofit hospital have expressed an interest in forming a union to secure fair wages and ensure client safety. To form a core support group of nurses, the union organizer can conduct meetings to gather initial information:

Nurses in a unionized hospital are paid "compensatory pay" when working holidays equal to the number of hours worked with no extra compensation. Although they have suggested changes during the annual survey of employee satisfaction, management refuses to consider another system for compensatory pay. A trained member listened to both nurses and management to make recommendations that were not legally binding. This type of settlement is termed:

A nurse is interested in working in a large trauma center that is unionized but does not want to join the union or pay fees. She accepts the position but is not required to join or pay fees to the union based on which law?

A hospital refused to purchase a better grade of utility gloves, even after learning that the cheaper utility gloves are easily punctured during routine use. This unsafe situation led nurses to seek unionization. During the pre-election phase for unionization, which actions by union representatives are prohibited by the National Labor Relations Board? (select all that apply)

A group of RNs wish to seek union representation that would protect all workers in the agency including nonlicensed assistive personnel and non-nursing employees such as nutritionists and dietary workers. The type of union being sought is the strongest collective group and is known as a(n):

Mandatory overtime and reduction in RN staff have resulted in decreased client satisfaction and a sentinel event. Management is unwilling to discuss a change in staffing, and collective bargaining interest is sparked. During the pre-election period, what actions by management are prohibited? (select all that apply)

A concern that nurses were being asked to perform tasks that went beyond the state's nurse practice act was brought to the union's attention. Nurses were informed that either mediation or binding arbitration will be used to resolve the issue. A novice nurse asks about the difference between these techniques and is informed that: