Department-specific benefits are protected by law and maintained in several ways.
It is illegal to remove benefits as retaliation for unionizing.
The National Labor Relations Act makes it illegal for employers to threaten employees with a reduction of benefits and worse working conditions in retaliation for employee efforts to unionize. During the unionization process, benefits are carefully documented to ensure they are not removed in violation of labor law. Reducing department-specific benefits in response to unionization would be a textbook case of retaliation by the employer and would constitute illegal behavior.
Departments and program directors retain flexibility in unionized hospitals. Departments in unionized hospitals are not required to go through the union in order to make scheduling changes or any other department-specific changes not specified in the bargaining agreement. Program directors are free to provide the additional benefits that they do to their specific program without having to negotiate with the union. Once our contract is ratified, the contract becomes the “floor”. All of the inter-department variations that you have now are what you will continue to have. Program directors can add to these benefits. Taking away of benefits would be unlawful.
Unionization raises, not lowers, the common denominator.
Source: https://sway.office.com/ELr9il70Vn8dWpqd
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