if i were in the hospital, i'd rather have a new nurse who did her job well, than a veteran nurse who was terrible. pay the good nurses more, pay the bad nurses less. in a regular job you don't get a promotion because you suck, you get a promotion because you do things right.

These nurses are going on strike because they want to be part of a union. Saying that they are being "forced" is misleading and incorrect.

Further, I don't think you're giving the whole picture here. "Merit" is a very subjective way to base pay. Experience isn't.

In response to "JonnyUps"...nursing is a real job. Posting comments on blogs isn't. In the real world people get raises and promotions because they have experience AND they're good at their job.

I didn't say nursing wasn't a "real" job. I know nurshing is a real job because I've had to rely on nurses to take care of many family members over the years. I would consider nursing more beneficial to society than my own job.

With that out of the way, here's the point I'm trying to make. At my job (I work in promotional marketing for a national real estate company, yes it's a real job, posting in a blog is something i do on my moments off, thank you.) I get evaluated every 6 months. My advisor doesn't give me a raise just because I've completed another 6 months of work. I get a raise because she feels I have worked hard, and become a better employee than the last 6 months.

If we're not getting the whole picture here, then we aren't getting the whole picture. But I am basing my comments on the post that was made and I personally feel that leaving a hospital more under-staffed than it already is, should be against a code of ethics or something.

What do I know? I just post on blogs all day.

Jonny:

If you didn't mean that nursing wasn't a "real job" then I misread your post and I apologize. That is how it looked to me.

Most employers I've worked for base promotions and raises on both performance evaluations and experience.

I think it's unfair to characterize unions as some sort of egregiously awful organization that does nothing but steal from employers and give to lazy employees. That's what seems to be coming across here.

Carla, I too apologize. I wasn't looking for a debate when I made my first comment. I just wanted to state that a good nurse deserves the raise (i would think) over a nurse who, over the years, has become apathetic in his/her work. I could tell story after story of bad hospital visits involving my dad, my brother, and other family members. So having quality care is a big deal, and I know that when I get a raise at my job, I am more excited to do a better job for the next time around.

I think we were both misunderstood, but are making valid points. :)