Lapeer Nurses Vote 94% Yes to Authorize Strike

McLaren RNs also declare “no confidence” in CEO Tim Vargas due to hospital disrepair, patient safety concerns, and harmful staffing cuts

LAPEER, MI – With a 94 percent “yes” vote, MNA nurses at McLaren Lapeer voted Thursday (Sept. 17) to authorize their elected RN bargaining team to call a strike if necessary. If the team does call a strike, nurses will give McLaren 10 days’ notice to prepare.

“This overwhelming strike vote sends a message to McLaren that nurses remain strong, united, and determined to do what it takes to get a fair contract,” said McLaren Lapeer nurse and bargaining team member Alisha Ferkowicz, RN. “McLaren’s anti-union behavior and their proposals at the table are unacceptable. They need to show they’re serious about supporting nurses and enabling us to provide the best care possible to our patients.”

Negotiations have been ongoing since March 11; the contract expired May 9. Bargaining resumes Monday (Sept. 21).

The nurses’ strike authorization vote – 94 percent yes, with 95 percent of eligible nurses voting – comes after MNA’s statewide Board of Directors voted Monday (Sept. 14) to create a new strike pay benefit. The pay will take effect on day one for members affected by strikes or lockouts.

In addition, a supermajority of McLaren Lapeer nurses have signed a petition declaring “no-confidence” in CEO Tim Vargas. They point out that the hospital is falling apart, patient safety concerns are widespread, and anti-union actions and staffing cuts have put more duties on already overworked nurses.

In light of the hospital’s severe problems, the nurses also question the 35 percent increase in Vargas’s annual compensation, which went from $460,000 in 2023 to $623,000 in 2024*.

The nurses cited multiple ongoing crises under Vargas’s leadership, including: 

• Failure to provide basic repairs to the hospital, leaving only two out of five elevators working in the North Tower; lack of a dishwashing machine in the kitchen, resulting in cold food served to patients; and a serious leak in the ceiling of the operating room, which is supposed to be a sterile environment.
• Rampant and increasing patient safety concerns. Nurses say they are increasingly put in situations they assess as unsafe for patients or nurses.
• Anti-union actions and staffing cuts as part of McLaren’s cost-cutting that have put increased duties on the already overworked nurses, resulting in the nurses filing an unfair labor charge against the hospital.

“Our hospital is falling apart, our staff has been cut to the bone, and nurses’ patient safety concerns continue to grow – all of these problems lay squarely at Tim Vargas’s feet,” said Ashley Witmer, an RN at the hospital and president of the local Michigan Nurses Association union there. “By his actions and inaction, Tim Vargas is showing that his priority is the corporation’s profits – not the needs of our community.”  

A group of nurses tried to present the petition with all the signatures to Vargas on Friday (Sept. 11) but were told he was “unavailable.”
 
 *2024 is the most recent year for which numbers are publicly available
 
The Michigan Nurses Association is the largest union and professional association representing registered nurses and healthcare professionals in Michigan. MNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United and the AFL-CIO. 

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