Taking Seniority to the Mat

The conversation goes like this:

Union: The nurse manager has to select the most senior LPN for the vacancy.

HR Lady: These are not similar positions.

Union: These are well-qualified nurses and the positions are similar.

HR Lady: Yes, we do have some of the best nurses in town and there is a world of difference in caring for Alzheimer patients and detoxing a patient who absolutely does not want to be there. Both very valuable, yet both very different.

Union: Their experience is related and you must select the most senior.

HR Lady: You are absolutely out of your mind and it is just not happening.

End of conversation but not end of issue.

I believe we should provide our internal employees opportunities for advancement, for training and for development. I believe that each individual is personally responsible for their development. A promotion or position change is not an absolute right or entitlement.

I support, all things being equal, that the senior employee be selected for the opportunity. We flat out cannot function effectively as an organization for our customers, patients and employees, if we select employees based solely on their seniority. This has not consistently been management’s practice in the past so we have a tough road against us and I am in it for the long haul.

Supporting selections based solely on seniority –not on my watch. This is a position I will take to the mat, to the bank, and very likely, to the Federal Labor Relations Authority.