September 2011 Submission:   I have this friend in the Union.   He tells me, at this one VA facility, in which he works, staff on one of the units had been asking for a good long time to be able to go to 12 hour shifts.   They wanted to do this for a variety of reasons, some of which were:   n Personal Preference – would allow for more time at home and with family n Increased Job Productivity – studies done have consistently shown greater productivity by those folks doing compressed schedules n Increased Job Satisfaction – studies also show a markedly greater job satisfaction enjoyed by folks doing 12 hour shifts as compared to those doing 8’s. n Other units within this particular VA had been, for years, doing 12 hour shifts, effectively. n Within the SAME BUILDING in which this staff worked, indeed, on the very SAME FLOOR of that SAME BUILDING, a similar but separate unit, had been working 12 hour shifts for YEARS, again, very effectively.      So, with all of the above, one would think, given the proper proposal and plan for back up, the request from staff to management that the staff transition to 12 hour shifts would have been a slam dunk.   Yeah…..one WOULD think !       However, in this particular VA facility, some in the management staff, including the nurse manager, did not particularly care for the 12 hour shifts.   The reasons for this were never very fully articulated, particularly when compared to what was happening, successfully, on other units within that same VA.    Some of it was the holding onto the old-school thinking of 12 hour shifts being more expensive ( proven otherwise ) or being more difficult to cover ( also debunked by other experiences ).   Still…..management continued to say “ NO ” !   Enter, the Union.    Union reps and staff met to go over what had taken place.   The next step entailed a formal meeting amongst the Union, staff and management.    Management made their position known, staff had their input, and the Union, speaking on behalf of its membership, stated what appeared to be a reasonable resolution of the problem. The solution was turned down by management.   The Union, acting for its membership, then went to the grievance route.    It took months ( much longer, actually, than we would have liked from both staff and the Union vantage point ) but, my friend in the Union is happy to report that, this unit, which for so long had wanted to be working 12 hour shifts, now, with the help of its Union, has a date of this coming month to start working 12’s !!!   Union…. it WORKS !