10-day notice will be provided before any strike begins
Mt. Pleasant, MI – An overwhelming majority of nurses at MyMichigan Alma voted today to give their elected RN bargaining team the ability to call for a strike. 97% voted in favor with just 3% opposed. There are approximately 150 nurses working at the hospital.
10-day notice would be provided before any strike begins. Nurses at McLaren Central Hospital in Mt. Pleasant will be voting tomorrow on whether to give their elected bargaining team the ability to call for a strike. Both votes seek to protest unfair labor practices the nurses allege their hospitals have committed, including bad faith bargaining.
“Nurses have sent a clear signal to MyMichigan executives,” said Shenan Shinabarger, a nurse at MyMichigan Alma and the president of their local Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) bargaining unit. “We are united and prepared to do what it takes to make sure that MyMichigan bargains in good faith and puts patients first.”
While hospital executives have often complained about a nursing shortage, publicly available data from government agencies shows that there are over 50,000 RNs with active Michigan licenses who are currently not working as nurses. MyMichigan Alma RNs say that they hope that their next contract will be competitive enough to be able to draw nurses back to the bedside to fill vacancies, as well to retain nurses who are still at the hospital.
“Nurses are getting pushed out of the workforce by the conditions hospital executives are creating,” said Paula Lemmer, a nurse at MyMichigan Alma. “Right now, heads of health systems get paid annual salaries of over $1 million while refusing to properly invest in nurses. Something must change.”
“I voted to authorize a strike because I care about my patients,” said Erica Vincent, a nurse at MyMichigan Alma. “I am scared about what is going to happen if the downward spiral continues. If nurses aren’t able to hold MyMichigan executives accountable, no one will be able to. This is about us doing what’s right for our community.”
Nurses at MyMichigan Alma have been working under an expired contract since November. Negotiations between MNA RNs and MyMichigan executives will resume on February 1.
The Michigan Nurses Association is the largest and most effective union for nurses and healthcare professionals in Michigan, representing approximately 13,000 members across the state. MNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United and the AFL-CIO.
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Contact: Amelia Dornbush; 517-896-7478