ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — According to the Michigan Nurses Association, nearly 3,000 U of M nurses and allies rallied at Fuller Park in Ann Arbor and then to the university’s hospital to bring attention to the fight for safe staffing amid an expired contract.
The rally, union officials say, was a picket, not a strike or work stoppage.
Nurses participating in today’s event were off duty and those who were on-duty, wore red during their shifts in solidarity.
The union says university administrators have refused to agree to their proposals, which they believe prioritize patients’ health and safety.
They say U of M administrators instead offered the following:
- No solutions to end dangerous, chronic understaffing.
- More than 100 concessions, including increasing mandatory overtime, new restrictions on how nurses can use PTO and a more punitive attendance policy.
- Compensation that doesn’t keep up with inflation and won’t recruit and retain skilled nurses.
University officials contend the union's position doesn't tell the whole story.
They issued the following statement:
“Our nurses are the backbone of our health system. Our outstanding nurses are a key reason we have been able to achieve outstanding quality scores from CMS, Leapfrog Safety Grade and US News & World Report, positioning us as the safest hospital in the state of Michigan. I could not be prouder of our nurses and the care they provide. Because we deeply value our nurses, we’ve put together a generous package that recognizes the value they bring to our patients and our organization,” said Nancy May, D.N.P., R.N., NEA-BC, FAAN, chief nursing executive, who has been a nurse herself for 47 years.
According to U-M Health, their current proposal covers a wide range of topics, including:
- Raising the average salary for nurses in the bargaining unit to $121,541 per year by year four
- Providing a 5% raise for nurses every year for four years, representing a 20% base pay increase
- Introducing a new salary step program for nurse practitioners with an average 20% increase over four years
- Safely eliminating mandatory overtime within the next 24 months or sooner
According to the health system, although the labor agreement has officially expired, University of Michigan Health’s nurses continue to work and be paid at the same rate as before the expiration.
“Michigan Medicine is a place where nurses want to work, and we want it to continue to be that way,” said David Miller, M.D., M.P.H., president of University of Michigan Health in a news release. “Our vacancy rate of 5% is lower than the national average of 17%, and our pay is higher than the national average. We are so grateful that our nurses choose to work and build their careers at Michigan Medicine because they know we value them and invest in their careers.”
Representing approximately 6,200 registered nurses throughout the U of M health system, the Michigan Nurses Association-University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council (MNA-UMPNC) says nurses have been working without a contract since July 1.
“Nurses are united in advocating for our patients,” said Renee Curtis, RN, president of MNA-UMPNC. “The patient safety incidents that are happening in our hospital because of long-term understaffing are totally unacceptable. We’re grateful for all the community support and we know the public understands that our working conditions are their care conditions. We’re going to stand strong to get what patients and nurses need.”
State Rep. Felicia Brabec, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, Ron Bieber, MI AFL-CIO president, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, UM Ford School Policymaker in Residence and Kirsten Herold, UM Lecturers' Employee Organization (LEO) president spoke at the rally.
According to the union, over 800 incidents relating to patient safety concerns have been filed with management this year.
A petition by the union calls for the end to understaffing through enforceable limits on patient assignments (RN-to-patient workload ratios), unsafe forced overtime and competitive wages that will recruit and retain nurses to keep up with inflation has been signed by more than 4,000 MNA-UMPNC nurses.
