The last several decades have been a time of steady stagnation for union membership in the healthcare industry. Just 6.9% of healthcare and social assistance industry workers belonged to a union in 2023. And no growth over multiple decades, during a time when all other costs have increased? That spells trouble for any union.

Because of the decline of union membership in the healthcare industry, unions are trying harder than ever to gain new dues paying members. Union organizing teams and in-house employee organizers have been known to use nursing concerns such as patient care and staffing ratios just to get their foot in the door. Once there, they may make highly persuasive and unrealistic promises with no guarantees –all in an effort to gain new members.

Representation
Since 2017, the NUHW has filed 126 representation petitions with the NLRB. The union only managed to win 75 of those elections – just 59.5%

Unsatisfied Customers

And, as if that weren’t bad enough, during this same time period, there were some in the NUHW’s current membership that were actually trying to kick the union out of their workplaces, by submitting petitions to decertify their union. The NUHW wasn’t able to win over their membership in any of these cases.

The NUHW is a big business, surviving on dues from hard-working members. The NUHW is required each year to file a document called an “LM-2” which reports the union’s most recent financial flow.

In 2023, the NUHW LM-2 Report stated that the union collected over $15.4 million in cash receipts, including $15.1 million in dues and agency fees. Even with that much money coming in, the union still managed to spend 90% of the money it collected.

NUHW Officials 

A chunk of the money pays top union official salaries and costly operating expenses. The NUHW paid more than $6.8 million for the combined salaries and expenses of its officers and employees.

Take a look at the chart below which breaks down how NUHW spent $13,948,998.

Other: Union Administration; Purchase of Investments and Fixed Assets; Strike Benefits; Fines, Fees, and
Assessments; Supplies for Resale; Loans Made; Repayment of Loans Obtained; To Affiliates of
Funds Collected on Their Behalf; On Behalf of Individual Members; Withheld but Not Disbursed.
Source: 2024 NUHW LM-2 Report

Since 2014, the NUHW has been involved in 26 work stoppages, which put 57,566 of their members out of work. 

• How strikes work
• Calculate how much money you could lose during a strike

In early 2015, the NUHW put patients at risk at several Kaiser Permanente west coast facilities when thousands of union members staged a walkout. Officials at Kaiser said the Union was putting bargaining ahead of patients.

“Union tactics designed to put our patients at risk are not productive,” John Nelson, Kaiser’s vice president of government relations.

Source: Bloomberg BNA. Years not shown had no work stoppages.