The Experiences of Newly Unionized Nurses Undergoing Collective Bargaining: An Ethnography

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Publisher

New York State Nurses Association

Source Publication

Journal of the New York State Nurses Association

Source ISSN

0028-7644

Abstract

Background: Collective Bargaining is a unique time when the relationships between employers and employees are legally and socially renegotiated.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand and describe the cultural changes among newly unionized nurses undergoing collective bargaining for the first time.

Methods: This study utilized ethnography, a method of studying individual cultures.

Results: Three cultural values were identified during this study: community, disillusionment, and empowerment. Nurses in this study felt a renewed sense of community with their peers and patients. Why they felt disillusioned with hospital administrators, nurses felt empowered to effect positive changes through their union activity.

Conclusions: Findings from this study highlight unionization as a method for self-advocacy that nurses engaged in despite disempowerment within the workplace. The study provides evidence that formation of community and workplace empowerment is not contingent upon formal leadership behaviors.

Comments

Journal of the New York State Nurses Association, Vol. 52, No. 1 (2025): 5-13. Publisher link.

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