Union of 2,000 nurses, healthcare professionals has worked without a contract for months

LANSING – The union of nurses and healthcare professionals at the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow gave the employer notice after bargaining this evening that they will conduct a 5-day strike beginning at 7 a.m. Jan. 20th.

While there was some progress today, negotiations since August have failed to produce a contract that meets the caregivers’ needs for affordable healthcare, competitive wages, and safe working conditions.

The approximately 2,000 members of the Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital-Michigan Nurses Association (PECSH-MNA) have been working without a contract since it expired Oct. 30. Members voted almost unanimously last month to authorize the bargaining team to call a strike if needed, with a 98.7 percent yes vote.

In addition to the actual issues at the table, the union has filed federal charges against UMH-Sparrow alleging a pattern of bad-faith bargaining. The unfair labor practice charges were filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The strike will begin at 7 a.m. Jan. 20th and conclude on the morning of Jan. 25th. PECSH-MNA members will be picketing peacefully outside the main hospital, the Emergency Department in Okemos, and Sparrow Health Center Lansing (2909 E. Grand River Ave.), Members will be picketing until 9 p.m. Access to Sparrow facilities will not be disrupted.

Members said they are willing to sacrifice their pay to strike because this contract is so important to them as well as the future of health care in mid-Michigan. UMH-Sparrow is the region’s largest hospital and only Level 1 Trauma Center.

“Due to the employer’s refusal to bargain a fair contract and their anti-union behavior, we have to draw a line in the sand – and we are united and energized to do that by hitting the pavement on January 20,” said Leah Rasch, RN, co-chair of the PECSH-MNA bargaining team. “It is not too much to ask that the University of Michigan, which has billions of dollars in resources, invest in competitive wages and affordable healthcare for the people who provide the care at their Lansing facilities.”

The parties are scheduled to bargain again on Jan. 16th and 17th, and PECSH-MNA is willing to consider additional negotiation dates before the strike if that would be productive.

This is the first contract that PECSH-MNA has negotiated since University of Michigan Health bought Sparrow for $800 million in 2023. U of M Health-Sparrow announced plans last year to build a $97 million psychiatric hospital in Lansing and has broken ground on a $32 million health center near Grand Ledge. UMH-Sparrow also recently announced it will lease the former Rite-Aid building across from the main hospital at an undisclosed cost. This is on top of nearly $1 billion U of M Health is spending on a new hospital on its Ann Arbor campus.

“It’s heartbreaking that we have to go on strike against an employer that seems to have unlimited funds for buildings but is not showing a commitment to investing in the people who actually do the work,” said Lindsey Davis, LMSW, a social worker in behavioral health and a member of the PECSH-MNA bargaining team. “I’ll be out on the picket line with my union siblings, standing up for what’s fair and right. All the community support means the world to us; people understand that a strong contract is necessary to recruit and retain enough nurses and healthcare professionals to take care of our loved ones and neighbors.”

Community members are welcome to join the picket lines at any time.

The unfair labor practice charges filed Monday address allegations that UMH-Sparrow executives have failed to bargain in good faith, including charges that they violated federal labor law by:

• Interrogating a member about whether they would go on strike if one were called.
• Implementing new job positions without giving notice or bargaining with the union.
• Bargaining while withholding information; specifically, bargaining over health insurance while it is believed they were fully aware that the corporation planned to close the health insurance plan that it bought when it acquired Sparrow, which many employees rely on.
• Illegally polling employees by offering them the chance to sign up for a free T-shirt on the first day of the strike authorization vote.
• Unilaterally modifying terms and conditions of employment under an expired contract.

The next step related to the charges is for the National Labor Relations Board to investigate.

The Michigan Nurses Association, which includes the Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital (PECSH-MNA), is the largest union and professional association for registered nurses and healthcare professionals in Michigan. PECSH-MNA represents nurses and healthcare professionals in nearly 60 job categories. MNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United and AFL-CIO.

Contact: Dawn Kettinger, 517-721-9688