w/VIDEO: MyMichigan Alma refuses to let multiple nurses return to work after strike

Action is believed to be retaliation for legally protected work stoppage
 
Video of the nurses supporting colleagues returning to work is available here.

ALMA, MI - MyMichigan Medical Center Alma officials refused to let multiple nurses return to work after their 3-day unfair labor practice strike ended at 7 a.m. today (Monday, July 6). Because of this, nurses will continue picketing outside the hospital although the strike is over. 

At least one-fourth of the nurses who were scheduled to work at 7 a.m. Monday were told overnight that they were not needed because of a shortage of patients - a situation that MyMichigan created by unnecessarily closing multiple units leading up to the strike, despite having 14 days' notice to adequately staff the hospital. 

Although the hospital is allowed to "low-census" nurses under certain circumstances, MyMichigan officials did this to an excessive number of nurses this morning. 

"First MyMichigan closed units, forcing local patients to go farther away, and now they're punishing nurses just because we stood up for ourselves," said Shenan Shinabarger, RN, president of the MNA union at the hospital and a member of the statewide MNA board. "Apparently MyMichigan executives didn't like the fact that our strike showed how strong our union is and how much our community supports us nurses. MyMichigan should be ashamed that instead of providing care to patients who need it and bargaining fairly with us in good faith, they are retaliating against their nurses for exercising our legally protected rights."

Nurses will continue picketing outside the hospital until they believe MyMichigan has done everything to return to normal operations to take care of local patients and bring all nurses back to work. Nurses want to thank the Alma community for all their support, including donations of pizza, coffee and other items, and people joining them on the strike line.

The nurses, who make up a local of the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA), held the 72-hour strike with round-the-clock picketing to protest the employer’s anti-union actions and advocate collectively for a fair contract. Their contract expired Feb. 16. 

Nurses say MyMichigan's financial offer at the negotiating table amounts to a pay cut when the rising costs of gas, groceries and other necessities are taken into account. 

MNA has filed six unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board that are under investigation. The charges are available here. They state that MyMichigan: 

• Withdrew their proposals because the nurses' union gave legally protected strike notice.
• Without bargaining as required, stopped allowing nurses to trade shifts in advance of the strike.
• Without bargaining as required, changed policies regarding the pulling and assignment of Psychiatric Care nurses to other departments.
• Without bargaining as required, refused to allow PTO accrual on weekend overtime despite clear contract language.
• Talked directly to the wider hospital staff about proposals they didn’t make at the bargaining table.

A hospital representative also made an unlawful threat against a union representative, saying the Alma nurses would never get a contract after a legally required notice of picketing was given to the hospital.

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.