Nursing Labor Movement

Introduction to the American Labor Movement: Dating back to the beginning of the industrial revolution, the American Labor movement in the United States began its existence due to poor working conditions and exploitation during the beginning of that time. Labor unions in the United States today function as legally recognized representatives of workers in numerous industries, but in recent years have seen their greatest growth among service sector and public sector workers. Activity by labor unions in the United States today centers on collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and working conditions for their membership and on representing their members if management attempts to violate contract provisions. Although down from the peak membership they achieved in the third quarter of the twentieth century, American unions also remain an important political factor, both through mobilization of their own memberships and through coalitions with like-minded activist organizations around issues such as immigrant rights, trade policy, health care, and living wage campaigns. (Labor, 2007)
Labor unions have had a long history of using their most powerful weapon, strikes, to fight their battles. Even today, with the diminishing numbers of union members, strikes appear in the news sporadically. The most common reason for organized labor to walk off the job and strike are wage-related issues. (Labor, 2007)
In the profession of nursing, the common reasons for nurses to strike are patient care demands, benefits and wages. Despite differences in economics, politics, culture and health care systems across countries, nurses around the world face very similar problems and hold very similar priorities. Understaffing, safety and health, mandatory overtime, privatization, floating and the assignment of nursing assistants are seen as serious problems. (Challenges, 2003)
Nursing Labor Organization History
Since the late 1800s, nurses around the world have been organizing to

References: SEIU History, Retrieved January 6, 2007 from http://www.seiu.org/about/seiu%5Fhistory/