28
"Signing a union card will give away
your rights, and you are automatically
a dues-paying member."
Signing a union card does not create a legal obligation.
You continue having the same rights as an individual who has not
signed a union card. You are not bound to any additional limitations
or rules by signing. The union authorization card is simply a card
filled out by RNs to show support for having a union to win the right
to bargain a contract with improvements for RNs and patients in
their facility. No one will know that you signed the union card unless
you tell them. Only after the election do you then become a member
of the union.
After RNs vote "Yes" to win union representation, you sign
a second card, the union membership card, to become a
dues-paying member.
Dues-paying members are able to hold positions in the union,
vote in internal union elections, and have a say in the direction
of the union. No RN pays any dues until a contract is reached
and approved by the members of the union.
Dues are necessary to have an effective organization.
They are democratically set by the elected CNA/NNOC board and
NNU Executive Council, made up of direct-care RNs. Dues help to
finance new organizing, collective bargaining, educational, and leg-
islative efforts to protect and improve RN practice and patient care.
Myth #17
Truth:
