DETROIT (WXYZ) — Anitta Orr was stunned to open a letter that indicated the Detroit cancer center where she received about two dozen radiation treatments and continues to go for follow-up appointments will be closing at the beginning of next month.
"Effective October 1, 2023, DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital will discontinue outpatient services at the Sinai-Grace Hospital Medical Oncology Clinic," the letter read.
Patients were then advised to contact the Charach Cancer Treatment Center at the DMC hospital in Commerce Township.
"I was just so disgusted and I was just hurt because there's no other cancer center in the city besides Karmanos and everybody can't go to one cancer center," Orr told 7 Action News.
Orr said she's healthy enough and has transportation to be able to get to another cancer center but her concern is for those who don't.
"I felt like they're abandoning my city again," she said. "I think about the people who have walkers. They're in wheelchairs. They were making it the best way they can."
At the same time, some DMC union employees are frustrated that the health system and its owner, Tenet Health, are not negotiating in good faith, according to President of Teamsters Union Local 283 Steve Hicks.
"It was unbelievable. It was so insulting," said Hicks said about the first offer from DMC/Tenet to his members that he said included an increase in their healthcare costs with a raise of two cents an hour.
"If you've been to the grocery store, inflation is sky high, double-digit inflation," Hicks said. "They actually offered the people that worked through the pandemic, processing the specimens of the citizens of Detroit and the citizens of Michigan, a two-cent raise."
Hicks said DMC/Tenet is concerned more about shareholders and paying millions to the highest-ranking executives.
"They got tax abatements here. They should be paying a decent living wage here in Detroit to cover for inflation," he said.
Senior lab assistant Crystal Haywood, who has worked for DMC for over 25 years, said it's a "kick in the face to offer someone pennies with the cost of living and inflation."
The Teamsters are hoping citizens and even the mayor will get involved to help urge DMC/Tenet to negotiate what they believe would be a fair contract.
"We worked through the pandemic without any pandemic pay so we believe we deserve at least a dollar raise," Haywood added.
Sherry King is a lab assistant who said the pay is the reason for a high turnover in the department she works in.
"They went other places and got better jobs," said King. "We want to be here, but we want to be here and still be able to live at the same time."
Sarah Mullett, a senior DMC client service representative, said even if they accept the two-cent raise that was offered, it would be sucked up by the rise in their healthcare cost.
"A lot of us live here in the city. We have been here for a very long time. We've been with the DMC through thick and thin," Mullett said. "For a lot of us, this is our home, our family, and we want to be able to take care of patients."
7 Action News emailed DMC Communications at 10:57 a.m. Friday, requesting information on the closing of the cancer center as well as contract negotiations with members of Teamsters Local 283.
The DMC responded with a statement at 5:25 p.m. but did not provide information on how many patients and workers would be affected by the closing of the cancer center.
The following is the DMC response on the cancer center's closing as well as contract talks with the Teamsters.
DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital has proudly provided high-quality and compassionate care to Northwest Detroit and the surrounding communities. After careful consideration and review of community patient preferences, DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital will transition outpatient oncology services including infusion therapy and radiation oncology to nearby cancer programs, effective October 1. This will enable the hospital to reinvest our resources in a way that best meets the greatest needs of the community we serve.
We are working closely with oncology patients and families to ensure a seamless transition for care. This includes the high-quality oncology services available at the Karmanos Cancer Institute at the DMC Harper University Hospital campus.
We are grateful for our care teams that have supported these services. Our human resources team is working to assist employees in finding other positions within SGH or at other DMC facilities.
The DMC has been negotiating in good faith with the Teamsters for almost 11 months. On August 3, the Teamsters notified the DMC that the union would be striking on August 16, but withdrew the strike notice when the Union realized it did not have support for the strike. After the failed strike attempt, the Union's new strategy appears to be to mislead employees and the public, including by misrepresenting the offers the DMC has made. The truth is that the DMC recently made an offer to the Union which would have resulted in the highest increases in well over a decade. In some cases, employees would have seen immediate increases of nearly 10%, significantly higher than what the Union claims the DMC is offering. The offer also included retroactive pay, an extra holiday, increases in floating pay, and other benefits. Despite the fact that the DMC’s offer would have resulted in one of the best contracts these employees have ever seen, the Union refused to even allow employees to vote on the offer, instead allowing it to expire. As a result of the Union's refusal to allow employees to vote, there is no offer currently on the table. We are next scheduled to meet on September 22 and 29. At this point, the DMC is committed to reaching a contract for the benefit of its employees, despite the Union’s continued games.
Teamsters Local 283 President Hicks said DMC is not being truthful because he says the health system never offered a 10% increase.
Hicks maintains DMC's offer started at 2 pennies an hour and that the last offer was 38 cents to 42 cents for lab assistants and customer service representatives.
