Maeya wrote: Answer me THIS: If non-unionized workplaces are currently offering these, why WOULD it suddenly stop? The nurse's union is pretty much non-existant in Georgia. I get great benefits and am treated very fairly. I have no union-based alternative to speak of, so by your logic, shouldn't my employer be fucking me over already simply because there's no union to protect me?
Few points
- It will take time, as I said, this does nothing "now / today" this is really bad going forward. All workplaces WILL stop these offers because they don't have to do it anymore. The only reason you got what you got was because your employer had absolutely no choice in the matter. Don't kid yourself, if 20 year old could do your job at half the pay, are you actually suggesting you'd still be employed (/laugh)?
- The hospital, union or not, is required to be competitive, they have no choice. The competition only exists for a few reasons, supply demand, IMO isn't one. Any employer will do what it takes to hire what it perceives as talent. The package offered to this talent is driven by third parties that complete package reviews across an industry, region, etc. You got, no maybes here btw, you GOT the package that was acceptable within the criteria, today. That does not mean the criteria will remain as it is today. One down side of your industry is actually what makes it a boom.
- Your industry selection does happen to coincide with a massive boom on humanities time line. RN, at home care, etc are all going to be HUGE and profitable industries ala the baby boomer aging and death. (BTW if any of you young folk want another massively profitable industry, look into morgue and funeral type services, this industry is on the cusp of a massive explosion)
As any industry booms, talent gravitates toward it, this results, over time, in a saturation. Saturation in any industry is really bad. I can look at the IT industry over the past 20 years (been in it for 26) and show a couple of cycles that had near saturation levels and how that caused a massive reduction in pay, industry wide. Your industry carries this same risk. You’ll know in about 15 years when a good junk of the boomers are dead or near death and the requirements / demands drastically reduce in a very short window. I don’t know your age, but say you’re 40 by then. That puts you in the high risk of termination (sorry). You’ll have had 15+ years of annual increase, added vacation time, vested 401k, etc. etc. (fwiw I am very familiar with this position LOL). You’ll be at high risk because that 20yr old can do your job, but now they can do it at 25% of your pay, little to no vacation, etc etc.
I would say you're an anomaly in the discussion though due to your selections in life / career. That is great for you, but don't kid yourself either. Once your hospital becomes financially stressed, unlikely in a lot of cases but sake of discussion here. Some of the first things any company will look at is labor and benefits. Understand your cost to the company is easily 25% (e.g. 100k is your net income per year but you cost the company closer to 130k). So companies look almost instantly at labor because this tends to be a big impact to the bottom line. Thinning the troops is a very common theme as I'm sure you know. First a thin would take place, then a benefit s review, then a drop in annual increase / review along with cap on pay, then forced unpaid time off, then layoff, etc etc.
It is very possible that the impacts of this legislation won't be felt for years, I sort of expect that honestly. That is part of the problem. By the time folks feel the pain, it is too late.
Harri sorry that I picked on you. Perhaps the lack of wisdom or foresight is what frustrates me. I look at this like the 99% group, the occupy movement, and I hear folks say shit like, why so entitled feeling bro, suck it up get a job, etc etc. Yet posts come up on these boards that are the same in my eyes. “entitled” people here (like you, like mindia), the people that already have these benefits, trumpeting from a tower as if they’ll never go away. I just don’t get that line of thought.
/rambling off
EDIT
I missed your second post Maeya. Just wait, you will end up in one of two buckets, 1) too valuable to let go 2) replace with cheaper labor. All you are seeing right now is the industry has not recognized the level of saturation. I would expect 1-3 years for that to happen.