Alma nurses to hold 3-day ULP strike July 3

MyMichigan RNs will conduct a 72-hour work stoppage to protest anti-union actions and advocate for a fair contract 
 
ALMA, MI - Registered nurses at MyMichigan Medical Center Alma will go on strike for three days beginning at 7 a.m. July 3 to protest the employer’s alleged unfair labor practices and advocate for a fair contract.

Nurses at the hospital, who make up a local of the Michigan Nurses Association, voted last month to give their elected RN bargaining team the ability to call for a strike should it become necessary, with a 98 percent yes vote. Nurses gave MyMichigan two weeks’ notice of the strike on Thursday (June 18th), after the  16th bargaining session failed to produce agreement.

“MyMichigan’s actions show nothing but disrespect and disregard for our nurses, our union, and our community,” said Shenan Shinabarger, RN, president of the MNA union at the hospital and a member of the statewide MNA board. “Alma nurses work hard every single day to take care of our neighbors, but our caring nature doesn’t mean we are pushovers who will accept less than we deserve. We are going on strike because we can’t let a giant corporation get away with treating workers like we’re disposable.”

The nurses’ contract expired Feb. 16th; 178 RNs work at the hospital.

During the strike, which is scheduled to end at 7 a.m. July 6, nurses will picket on the hospital sidewalk. Patient access to the hospital will not be affected.

MyMichigan Alma has said that its final offer is no raise for nurses in the first year of the pending contract and 1 percent for each of the following two years.

“While we remain committed to bargaining in good faith, we won’t let ourselves be bullied into an unfair contract,” said MyMichigan Alma RN Sarah Weber, a member of the elected RN bargaining team. “MyMichigan wants us to accept what’s essentially a pay cut – we’d be doing the same work for less, with the rising costs of groceries, gas and everything else. Who would say yes to that?”

While MyMichigan is offering step increases in the first year of the contract and correction of nurses misplaced on the pay scale, nearly one in four Alma nurses would see no change in their wages during that time.

Alma nurses have offered to continue negotiating with MyMichigan, but no further bargaining dates are scheduled.

MNA has filed two unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. One charge states that MyMichigan executives unilaterally changed policies regarding psychiatric nurses at the hospital. MyMichigan is not allowed to make such changes without bargaining with the union.

The second charge states that MyMichigan violated the collective bargaining agreement by refusing to allow nurses to accrue PTO from weekend overtime hours.

Both charges are under investigation.

The Michigan Nurses Association is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses and healthcare professionals in Michigan. MNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United and the AFL-CIO.
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