Flexibility
Joining a union may reduce your scheduling flexibility. Currently, you can work directly with your manager to request time off and schedule changes. In a unionized environment, these decisions are subject to a collective bargaining agreement, which may complicate approvals and enforce stricter rules.
Your requests may require adherence to a contract or union approval, which could potentially cause delays and prioritize those with seniority or closer ties to the union. Additionally, communication with your manager may become more formal, which can limit your ability to address scheduling issues easily. This shift can create a more rigid work environment, making personal advocacy for promotions more challenging, as these matters will be handled collectively rather than individually.
So, what could a union contract restrict or control?
- Your ability to receive an additional pay increase between review cycles
- Your ability to advocate for yourself
- Your ability to leave work early to accommodate your child’s sports event or go to a concert
- Your ability to flex to another unit to work more hours and/or overtime
- A supervisor assisting with patient care when a unit is short-staffed, or when you need coverage
- Your ability to modify your shift start or end time to accommodate an urgent need for a personal matter
- Your ability to plan vacations or select holidays off
Union Dues
If National Nurses United (NNU) unionize nurse associates at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital you will be required to pay monthly dues to NNU. Dues are deducted from your after-tax take home pay.
Currently, NNU dues are 2.2 times your base hourly wage each month, up to a maximum of $170.22 per month.
For example, if you are a full-time RN and earn $40 per hour you would owe the union $88.00 per month or $1,056 per year. Over the course of a typical three-year union contract, you would pay nearly $3,200 in union dues.
For part-time/per diem RNs who are paid for 52 hours or fewer per month, dues are a minimum of $85.11 per month, which could add up to a minimum of $1,021 per year.
When your base hourly rate increases, so does the amount you would pay in union dues. And you could be forced to pay even more dues since NNU has the right to raise dues at any time.
Collective Bargaining: Status Quo
If a union election is held and a union is elected, it could take a year and a half or longer to negotiate a contract. While you wait for a contract, your employer is legally required to maintain status quo on wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. Changes cannot be made unless the union specifically agrees. Sometimes, a union will withhold agreement on employer proposals to secure an agreement on another issue that is important to the union.
In our region, nurses at two hospitals are experiencing this state of uncertainty firsthand. At Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital, nurses voted to unionize in November 2023, and as of May 2025 are still without a contract. Similarly, in Washington, D.C., nurses at George Washington University voted to unionize in July 2023, and as of today a contract has not been reached.
Promises ≠ Actions
NNU and other unions might make a lot of promises, and they might sound appealing. But nothing is guaranteed during collective bargaining. If the union wins an election, it wins the right to negotiate on your behalf, but our hospital isn’t under any obligation to agree to anything. The union’s promises aren’t automatically granted, and the union can’t require that certain things be negotiated, even if it says it can.
Before you give away control of your MedStar Georgetown University Hospital work experience to a union, consider this:
- A union cannot guarantee higher pay or better benefits.
- A union cannot require us to hire new nurses or direct how units are staffed.
- A union cannot change hospital policies or procedures.
You Have Rights
We respect our associates’ right to make free and informed decisions. Further, we support our associates’ legal right to choose for themselves whether or not to unionize.
- The right to refrain from any union activity.
- The right to engage in union activity and support the union.
- The right to campaign against the union.
We are aware that union organizers can be extremely persistent. We support Federal law that provides our associates with the following rights:
- YOU have the right to sign or not sign a union card, petition or online form.
- YOU have the right not to be bothered by union supporters while you are working or in patient care areas.
- YOU have the right to talk or not talk to a union representative if you are contacted at home.
- YOU have the right to tell union organizers you are not interested.
- YOU have the right to say “No.”
Our mission to provide extraordinary patient care is best accomplished when our associates’ voices are heard, when we work directly with one another, and when associates speak for themselves and our patients without intervention from outside organizations.
Myths vs. Facts
Myth: If we support a union, we might not get everything, but at least we’ll get something.”
Fact: Any changes would have to be negotiated between the union and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Collective bargaining is a give-and-take process, and while both sides can put forth its proposals, there are no guarantees. And no one knows what a final contract will look like—you could get more, but you could also end up with the same as what you have today, or even less.
Myth: With a union, we will decide what the policies and work rules are.”
Fact: The union would not have a say in MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s policies and day-to-day operations. Those matters are typically part of management rights, along with hiring and firing decisions, discipline, staffing and resourcing, and enforcing all policies, procedures, and work rules.
Myth: A union will have the authority to select supervisors.”
Fact: MedStar Georgetown University Hospital would retain the authority to make management decisions, including who is selected to be a supervisor. Our expectation of all leaders is to exhibit fairness at all times. If you ever feel this is not the case, please reach out to Human Resources.