U of M Nurses to Vote on ULP Strike

Union has filed unfair labor practice charges against the university  

ANN ARBOR, MI – Registered nurses at the University of Michigan will vote next month on whether to give their leaders the ability to call an unfair labor practice strike. 

The university’s 7,500 RNs are members of MNA-University of Michigan Professional Nurses Council, a local union of the Michigan Nurses Association. They will vote July 13 through July 18 on the strike authorization. 

During contract negotiations that have been going on since October 13th, the university has engaged in multiple actions that the nurses allege are violations of state labor law. MNA has filed unfair labor practice charges with the state, being investigated by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC).  

“We’ve been trying to bargain a fair contract for months, and meanwhile the university keeps engaging in actions that make it clear that they do not respect our members’ rights and our union,” said RN Ernie Saxton, a member of the nurses’ elected bargaining and executive teams. “Nurses are fed up with what we see as obvious union busting. Nurses won’t stand for it – we are serious about holding university management accountable for their anti-union actions.”  

MNA’s unfair labor practice charges state that university management: 

• Is refusing to honor APRNs’ union representation rights and issuing discipline without just cause*; 
• Placed monitoring sensors in various workspaces, including clinical areas, without bargaining with the union over that; and 
• Unilaterally cut some nurses’ pay. 

If a majority of members vote yes on a ULP strike authorization, that gives the union’s leaders the ability to call an unfair labor practice strike if they deem it necessary.

The unfair labor practice charges are available here. 

*APRNs are advanced practice registered nurses in the categories of nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse midwife, and clinical nurse specialists. About 1,000 MNA-UMPNC members are APRNs. 

The Michigan Nurses Association-University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council (MNA-UMPNC) is a local bargaining unit of the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA). MNA is the largest union for registered nurses and healthcare professionals in the state and an affiliate of National Nurses United and the AFL-CIO.