Unionization and Strikes in the Healthcare Industry - Term Paper Example

UNIONIZATION AND STRIKES IN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY Introduction Unionization brings laborers together in order to enable them hold their employers to account and have a strong bargaining front. It is the process that brings together and organizes company employees in to union of laborers which will then play the role of an intermediary between the employees and the company or employer. As such, if workers of a given company establish a union, the company is thus referred to as a unionized company. Strikes on the other end can be understood as responses towards employees’ grievances that lead to work stoppage. Sometimes strikes are used by employees to force their governments or employers to change certain policies for which they do not like (Lewin, Keefe, & Kochan, 2012). However, various acts and policies exist that have served to affect this unionization process as well as strike. Among them is PT self determination Act, Federal Healthcare quality act and laws such as ERISA, HIPPA. This paper therefore seeks to discuss the background of unionization and strike in the health care industry outlining the effects of unionization and strikes in the health care sector. Further it will explain how the different acts among them PT self determination Act, Federal Healthcare quality act and laws such as ERISA, HIPPA affects striking and unionization in the Health care industry. Finally, the paper will give a brief conclusion summarizing this topic of discussion. Background of unionization and strike in the health care industry Freeman, & Han, (2012) discuses that; unionization and strikes are subject to law and are thus regulated by the laws as provided by the constitution and other sector acts. In the recent past the number of health practitioners covered or bound by a collective bargain agreement or those who have registered as members of workers union has been edging upwards. This trend can possibly be attributed to the backlash against the belt tightening experienced in certain hospitals as away to respond to the recent downturn in economy. Additionally, reforms in the health sector also play a major role in the rise of unionization of the health sector. Unions want to have a future; as such they understand that organizing the health workers will give them an inroad. The cost cutting pressure in the health care sector is making nurses and other health workers in this industry feel a lot of loss in control within their jobs. They experience a lot of uncertainty of the unanticipated outcomes or impacts of the health care reforms. As a result, there has been a merger across the health care practitioners associations. This includes Committee of National Nurses Organizing, Association of California Nurses among other nurses groups coming together to form one union. It is said that most of the union representatives approach employees in the health sector to persuade them to join their unions. This has made more nurses and other health care practitioners become members of unions. The overall implication of this is a unionized health care industry. But why is this case? The nurses and health care practitioners want to have a stronger voice. They claim they need this strong voice to speak for the patients and for the healthcare as an industry. This is because they believe it is the only way they can have their issues fronted and listened to by their employee which is the government and other private organizations. It is in their hope than the unionization of the health care industry will make it more professional. Some of the underlying issues are beyond the expected money claims or remuneration as it were (Kearney, & Mareschal, 2014). Among the issues that the unions or the nurses and other health practitioners hold claim on as patient are patients safety. These have even prompted the request for increment of the amount payable for health assurance. The patient safety here is in the aspect of patient nurse ratio. This is one of the issues against which unionization is being fronted so as to negotiate. This is because at any moment the hospitals cut back on the staff due to financial issues it is always the nurses who become casualties of the same. This is putting patients on the risks as few nurses are available to their service. Other issues include organizing health care workers to seek legislations that help fight violence against health workers (Kearney, & Mareschal, 2014). This can easily be achieved with a collective voice than a few individuals complaining about certain issues of violence affecting them. Further the health care workers are coming together in the unions so that they can pool resources to respond to disasters that affect their environment. This was evident in the response to Haiti earthquake. The number thus keeps edging up with more nurses and physicians among other health care workers registering to workers unions. This has tremendously seen the growth of unionization of the health care industry. They need this numbers because one cannot strike as an individual when it is necessary and as such can involve the union they have registered with to arbitrate on issues for them. Effects of unionization and strikes in the health care sector. Unionization and strikes in the health care sector has edged upwards due to the issues of concern that that the workers in the healthcare sector needed to have addressed but could not at individual levels. As such, they have felt the need to register with unions to arbitrate for them on this issues and where possible call for strike to ensure withdrawal of services until their part of bargain is met. However, this move has had its outcome that has affected the health care sector in a number of ways as discussed below: The unionization of the health care industry has harmed the patients a lot. This is because, with this unionization has come a lot of strikes fronted by the unions that have seen patients suffer immensely. In the health care sector, even a threat to strike affects the hospitals. A case in point is in California where in the year 2011 up to 20 calls for strikes were made (Gruber, & Kleiner, 2012). Of this 18 were by the unions and even though they never happened they massively affected the health care system. Some patients panic on these calls while money is also spent on the preparations of this strikes that sometimes don’t even happen like in this case of California. Strikes have now become more rampant in the health care sector happening more often than not. They now last even longer. This leads op loss of life. In 2010 up to 1,500 nurses in Philadelphia went o strike for over a month. In December 2011, 600 nurses went on strike in California abandoning their posts. This happened right ahead of Christmas. The 2011 strike in California cost one woman her life (Gruber, & Kleiner, 2012). Lavoie, & Stockhammer, (2013) outlines: Further, this unionization has resulted to increase of health care costs limiting access to services. Unionization makes the health care industry function as labour cartels. This is because the unions restrict the number of employees in a given health care facility. These companies then respond by passing on the higher pay to the consumers who are the public. As such unions benefit the members that are registered to it but hurt the general public. It is even worse with the workers who lack or are denied the opportunities. The high wages that have been transferred by the health care companies to the public limit access of the general public to health care facility. This further makes health care a preserve of the few. This is just one dire consequence the general public has to suffer from the unionization of the heath care industry. Widespread unionization slows down economic recovery (Lavoie, & Stockhammer, 2013). This is because the employers’ profits are cut down in paying the high wage demand by the health workers. This affects the investment potential of the employers to further improve the services delivery. The implication is a slow rate of growth of the health care sector. This translates to an average or poor services. Just as the Nurses and other health care workers have a right to strike, the patients too have a right to healthcare. It needs to be noted that one should not enjoy their rights through infringing the rights of other people. When strikes in the healthcare system occur, the patients’ right to health care is infringed. They are denied access to the facilities and are left unattended to despite their need for medical attention. Lives end up being lost as a result of this and as such strikes are the worst of things that can ever happen in the health care industry. Strikes in the healthcare industry directly affects humans well being. If a strike happens in the public sector, not everybody will be able to afford medication in the private sector. Furthermore, the private hospitals are more often than not expensive in comparison to the public hospital. None the less, they too get affected by the same strike. PT self determination Act, Federal Healthcare quality act ERISA, HIPPA and their effects on striking and unionization in the Health care industry. PT self determination Act in outlining the conditions for patients’ participation on the rights relevant to end of life states that: patients have the right to be able to request or refuse treatment. This enshrines the right of a patient to receive treatment on request. However, with the unionization and strike in the health care industry, patients have this alienable right denied. The strikes that occurred in California for a whole month denied the patients the right to access the medical healthcare facility for treatment and as such was it contravention with the provisions of the PT self determination Act. This act further gives the patients the right to advance any directives and have the staff of the hospital to comply with them. However, when the public’s will is to have efficient service delivery but their wish is hampered by the unionization of the health care sector where the unions are calling for strikes or withdrawals of service, the provision of this act is contravened (Roberts, 2014). According to Miller, Lavenberg, & MacKay, (2014) Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is one of the laws that have been enacted and is being implemented in the US. This law enables the United States to provide the retirees in the private sector with their retirement incomes. This act was established purposely to ensure that all the retirees in the private sector are able to receive their pension pays as per promised by their employers. It therefore exists mainly to protect the employees’ pensions. through this three important ways: funding where the employee sets aside funds for pension and not health insurance; vesting where the pension vests become non-forfeitable and guarantee where through Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation the government backs defined benefit pension. This act has substantially affected the health care industry in so far as strikes and unionization is concerned. This is because the act provides protection to the workers in the private sector, nurses and health care workers included in a manner that even in retirement their pension is guaranteed and cannot be forfeited. This has served to reduce the pay concerns that the health workers would have to fight for through a collective bargain agreement in their unions. As such, the act has provided a tremendous step in improving the health care sector through reducing strikes related to issues of pensions in the private sector. This move further provides a reason for one not to feel the need to register with a union and thus reducing the rate of unionization of the health care industry. Law, (2014) explains: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act shortly referred to as HIPPA was enforced in 1996 and was fully in effect in 2001. The act has two major goals that are primarily its objectives. First is to improve the continuity and portability the coverage of health insurance and through standardization of electronic data interchange improve the efficiency of the health sector. Secondly, the act aims at protecting the confidentiality and security of the health care data through setting standards as well as enforcing them. Thus the health and human services department was entrusted with this establishment. Through the first goal of HIPPA which is to improve the continuity and portability the coverage of health insurance and through standardization of electronic data interchange improve the efficiency of the health sector, HIPPA has improved the welfare of the health workers. The continuity of health insurance cover has tremendously improved the health care sector. This is because the patients are well covered and as such having an improved access to medical care. The workers in the health care sector are also benefiting from this cover and as such are motivated to work. The act further through aiming to protect the confidentiality and security of the health care data through setting standards as well as enforcing them makes the health industry a better sector. Protecting the confidentiality and security of healthcare data improves the confidence that the public has in the health care system. This further improves the credibility of the industry. As such the numerous issues that the practitioners in this field would have concerning the health care industry that would be a recipe for strike or need for unionization of the sector are addressed reducing the cases of strikes in this industry. These acts have immensely improved the health care industry and impacted on the unionization and strikes in the health sector as well. However more still need to be done given the rise in unionization and cases of strikes. Legislation and policies work but only when enacted with good participation and enforced properly. The health care industry as it is now experiences rampant strikes and unionization of the workers in this industry is edging upwards. Even though unionization brings laborers together in order to enable them hold their employers to account and have a strong bargaining front it also leads to withdrawals of services in the health sector during strikes. Strikes, as a response towards employees’ grievances that lead to work stoppage are harmful to the health sector. Even though sometimes strikes are used by employees to force their governments or employers to change certain policies for which they do not like. It brings with it harm that affect the public and the health care sector as a whole. However, various acts and policies exist that serve to reduce the unionization in the health care sector through improving the service delivery, workers welfare among the discussed goals they intend to achieve. This include pension plans for the workers, in the private sector, confidentiality of health records, continuity of health insurance cover, among other numerous benefits of such acts. This paper has therefore discussed the background of unionization and strike in the health care industry outlining the effects of unionization and strikes in the health care sector. Further it has explained how the different acts among them PT self determination Act, Federal Healthcare quality act and laws such as ERISA, HIPPA and how they affect striking and unionization in the Health care industry. Reference Freeman, R. B. (2014). What Can Labor Organizations Do for US Workers When Unions Can’t Do What Unions Used to Do?. What Works for Workers?: Public Policies and Innovative Strategies for Low-Wage Workers, 50. Gruber, J., & Kleiner, S. A. (2012). Do strikes kill? Evidence from New York state. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 127-157. Lewin, D., Keefe, J. H., & Kochan, T. A. (2012). The new great debate about unionism and collective bargaining in US state and local governments. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 65(4), 749-778. Freeman, R. B., & Han, E. (2012). The war against public sector collective bargaining in the US. Journal of Industrial Relations, 54(3), 386-408. Miller, R. J., Lavenberg, R. A., & MacKay, I. A. (2014). ERISA: 40 Years Later: The Landscape of Retirement Security Has Changed Dramatically since ERISA Was Enacted 40 Years Ago, as the Three-Legged Stool of Pensions, Savings, and Social Security Has Broken Down. Journal of Accountancy, 218(3), 86. Roberts, L. W. (2014). Informed consent and the capacity for voluntarism. Law, P. (2014). Law 104-191. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Lavoie, M., & Stockhammer, E. (Eds.). (2013). Wage-led Growth: An equitable strategy for economic recovery. Palgrave Macmillan. Kearney, R. C., & Mareschal, P. M. (2014). Labor relations in the public sector. crc Press. Read More