Rx: strike prevention in hospitals

Proposed federal regulations will help unions organize acute care hospitals. With more unionization comes greater chances for strikes. This article analyzes why strikes occur in hospitals. It discusses management practices in 62 unionized hospitals--31 with a history of strikes and labor unrest and 31 having shown the ability to live with their unions peacefully and reasonably profitably. Highlighted are management practice differences in four key areas that explain why the labor climate differs between the two groups of hospitals. Hospital administrators can use these four key findings to analyze their own situations, to prevent strikes if they are unionized, and to prevent unionization if they are now union-free.