Big Labor looks at the world through very heavily tinted economic glasses, and refuses to acknowledge the basics of marketplace realities. In Northern California, the standard union reaction to management market-driven survival strategies are playing out again, as the CNA voices opposition to a hospital selling off several service units in order so save the company $11 million a year. The nurses union is reacting to the “personal” loss of the dues associated with the potential 69 nurses who may lose their jobs at the hospital due to the move. The CNA is couching its opposition to the move in terms of the loss of services to the community, but according to CEO Bob Merwin, “Hospitals throughout Northern California and the country are exiting renal services and skilled nursing. It has been demonstrated that other community providers who focus exclusively on these specialized services can offer high quality care more cost effectively.” Reading between the lines, the nurses union has priced themselves out of the work.
