I suppose

I'm still a nurse through the relationship is very strained so I'll say my little piece about the unions champaign of one nurse to four patients. This is the mandated ratio in Victoria and has been for 9 years ( seems strange NSW union has finally got on to campaigning for it). Our union rep asked me rather aggressively if I was attending the rally in Sydney I said I am not a member of the union as I think they are a questionable bunch in collusion with the labour party most of the time, the president buying uniforms out of union money for his daughters sports team, oh says the rep the union got a lot of publicity out of that yeah, the front pages of the paper, it was a clear conflict of interest. 

Maybe you better watch what you say he  says, or what I thought you'll get rid of me bring it it on. I've never seen the union go into bat for anyone under the level of a unit manager and why on earth are ordinary nurses in the same union as managers. They are all nurses he says I said their interests are not the same as ours and they dominate the union. You've taken the wage rises he says. I didnt get to say the next bit to  him he is too macho to go at too much and too  angry by then I am such a wordy smartie. But wage rises ever since I've been nursing have been catch ups. Nurses fall behind for years then the union elections are due and they start some campaign or other usually for wages but this time they've gone for staff ratios. Thats full circle because guess what next year is the union election, see the pattern here. Meanwhile aged care nurses more and more behind in wages a couple of weeks trained "carers" handing out meds in nursing homes  and just try and get the union to act on your behalf they dont even act in criminal  charges. So paying all that money for Bretts daughters uniforms and conference talk feasts etc doesnt really seem worth it. My husband was a union rep for a while whenever he tried to raise issues with the union there was no response.