How Does a Union Improve Staffing and Patient Care?
As the healthcare industry continues to face cost-cutting pressures, it will take time and a combination of union contract bargaining, consumer action, and legislative measures to put patient care concerns back on the right track.
Unions really can improve staffing and workload situations and SEIU members have negotiated a variety of ways to address these issues. We work to:
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Set minimum staffing standards limiting how many patients employees must care for in a particular area on a particular shift.
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Create labor-management committees through which employees make joint decisions with administrators about staffing guidelines.
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Restrict mandatory overtime to protect employees and ensure the highest quality patient care.
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Create guidelines for floating and other practices to ensure that employees are able to provide the best possible care to their patients, and to do so under conditions for which they were properly trained.
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Improve recruitment and retention programs that focus on benefits, salaries, patient care, and working conditions in order to attract and retain the best qualified staff.
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