Michigan Nurses Association, October 12, 2011
 
Ann Arbor – Over 1,200 University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) registered nurses rallied at Liberty Park, marched from downtown Ann Arbor to Medical Center Drive, and picketed for two contracts outside the hospital: the Main Street Contract and a fair contract from UMHS management for 4,000 RNs. The combined event was held on Wednesday, October 12 beginning at 4:30 PM. ... U-M

Protesters say even if legislator rejects Main Street’s priorities, he should host town hall meeting to listen to constituents. 
Michigan Nurses Association, September 30, 2011

 Midland – As Michigan’s unemployment rate rises and many in Congress jump to protect millionaires over workers, Michigan nurses today expressed disappointment in US Representative Dave Camp (R-Midland) for failing to support the Main Street Contract for the American People and called on him to hold a town hall meeting in the district.

 ... Nurses

Public News Service, September 2, 2011 Lansing - Nurses who are trained to heal the sick say financial politics and policies are behind some of the nation's ills.

 Nurses from across the state gathered outside the offices of several Michigan congressmen Thursday, calling for them to support a tax on financial transactions. The Michigan Nurses Association, which is behind the movement, wants Congress to impose a half-cent levy on financial transactions involving stocks, bonds, currency trading and derivatives. 

In the wake of the financial crisis and the Wall Street bailout, says John Karebian, the association's executive director, it's time for the nation's financial institutions ... Michigan

Kendra Stanley-Mills, Muskegon Chronicle, September 1, 2011 A crowd of about 50 people gathered at the corner of Morris and Second streets in downtown Muskegon Thursday for a "call to action" by members of the Michigan Nurses Association who, according to a press release, "demand that members of Congress put our state's working men and women ahead of the greedy corporations that ruined our economy." Norton Shores resident Gloria White Gardner, a consultant with HERCO, a women-owned construction company, said she and HERCO are very interested in health. "A lot of our men and women in our program don't have health care," she said. ... Nurses

Ryan Berlin, Morning Sun, September 1, 2011 Today is a national day of action, where nurses everywhere unite together to help feed America’s hungry.

“Nurses are alarmed. They feel that the standard living of their patients isn’t what it use to be,” executive director of the Michigan Nurses Association, John Karebian said.

“We are trying to bring attention to that.”

Nurses from mid-Michigan will be at today’s Central Michigan University football tailgate.

The MNA chose to come to Mount Pleasant because it believes the university is suffering from several social ills. ... Mid-Michigan

Ryan Kilgren, UpperMichigansSource.com, September 1, 2011 Marquette - Marquette General nurses gathered at Marquette's Downtown Commons on Thursday, to show their support for the country's poor and hungry. The rally was part of a national Day of Action by nurses unions, to demand the adoption of their Main Street Contract. The contract calls for the support of a Wall Street transaction tax to raise money to pay for programs that assist the poor and elderly. A representative of the local teachers union was also on hand to speak and show support. Local nurses said they wanted to send a message to Representative Dan Benishek to support their cause. ... Nurses

Holly Klaft, Jackson Citizen Patriot, September 1, 2011 Blaming the financial industry for the economic downturn, local residents and members of a statewide nurses union are calling on lawmakers to tax Wall Street to help pull the country out of recession. The Michigan Nurses Association hosted a soup kitchen Thursday at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 120 North Jackson Street, as part of a “Day of Action” that included similar events statewide and nationwide. About 20 people dined on soup and sandwiches during the event, while the association promoted a plan to put a less than 1 percent sales tax on Wall Street transactions ... Residents

Juliana Keeping, AnnArbor.com, August 2, 2011 The University of Michigan nurses filed an amended complaint with the state that alleges bad bargaining practices on the part of their employer, they announced at a press conference today. The event at the Michigan Union was called a day before the nurses are scheduled to resume contested contract talks with U-M that fell apart July 9. The two sides disagree over wage increases, health insurance and other benefits, representatives for the 4,000-member nurses union said. ... University

Kara Gavin, University of Michigan Health System News, August 2, 2011 On Wednesday, August 3 a team from the University of Michigan Health System will return to the negotiation table with representatives from the U-M Professional Nurses Council/Michigan Nurses Association (UMPNC/MNA). The labor contract negotiations, which began in April, have been suspended since July 9 at the request of the union. 

The Health System negotiating team looks forward to returning to the table and engaging with the union bargaining team in an effort to reach an agreement on a successor contract to the one that expired on June 30, 2011. ... U-M

Jay Greene, Crain's Detroit Business, August 2, 2011 A union representing 4,000 nurses at the University of Michigan Health System held a press conference today to announce they are filing a second labor complaint against the university as contract negotiations drag into a fifth month of stalemate. The MNA/NNU, which represents the UM nurses, said it filed a complaint with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission. The complaint alleges that UM Health System "unlawfully engaged in regressive bargaining, made unilateral changes in working conditions, bargained directly with employees and refused an employee's rights to union representation." ... Nurses

Juliana Keeping, AnnArbor.com, August 1, 2011 The University of Michigan nurses plan file a second unfair labor practice claim against the university, they announced today. Contract talks that fell apart in July between U-M and the nurses are scheduled to resume Wednesday. Contested areas involves increases to the nurses' health premiums and other changes to benefits. In the mean time, nurses union lawyers are gathering a list of alleged violations they say amounts to a new violation of state labor law. ... University

Juliana Keeping, AnnArbor.com, July 27, 2011 Members of the University of Michigan nurses union expressed support for an informational picket at a membership meeting called Tuesday to discuss a stalled and contested contract negotiation, according to a statement released by union representatives. Bargaining talks between the nurses and the University of Michigan Health System were halted July 9 after the 4,000-member union and their employer failed to hash out a new contract. Some nurses are donning buttons and wearing red at work to support the union. ... University

Juliana Keeping, AnnArbor.com, July 25, 2011 The University of Michigan nurses union is making plans to picket, even as halted negotiations are scheduled to resume August 3 and nurses are staying on the job without a contract. But in the mean time, the 4,000-member union has called a general membership meeting on Tuesday to discuss the contract negotiations, which stalled after the two sides failed to reach an agreement earlier this month. Some nurses are wearing red buttons and donning red scrubs to support for the union. And a petition is circulating to support “Safe patient care,” said Katie Oppenheim, chair of the University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council. ... University

Scott Davis, Lansing State Journal, July 14, 2011 George Gray sells his blood every week so he can afford a bus pass or buy shaving cream. Unemployed and homeless for two years, the 57-year-old also is no stranger to soup kitchens. So, when the Michigan Nurses Association opened a temporary "soup kitchen" Wednesday on the Capitol lawn in downtown Lansing, Gray was happy to accept a chicken salad sandwich and chocolate cookie and sit down for a satisfying meal. ... Soup

Miya Williamson, Labor Notes, July 13, 2011 A sunny day on Lansing’s Capitol lawn brought the Michigan Nurses Association out today to hold a soup kitchen serving people left in need by the state’s drastic budget cuts. Governor Rick Snyder’s budget, passed in June, cut $1.5 billion while offering another $1 billion in corporate tax giveaways. The plan cut $100 million from local community services and chopped the Healthy Michigan program, which funded preventive care. The nurses said they came to the Capitol to highlight conditions for their patients, which have become so dire that some choose between life-saving medications and a daily meal. ... Michigan