Doug Cunningham, Workers Independent News, January 8, 2008 In Saginaw, Michigan community, religious and labor leaders gathered Monday for an informational picket to support nurses who are trying to get their first labor contract after joining the United Steel Workers. Seventy nurses at Healthsource in Saginaw have been without a contract for 15 months. The nurses want improvements in wages, more staff to care for patients and improved working conditions.

Sofia Kosmetatos, Detroit News, November 15, 2007 The Michigan Nurses
Association has withdrawn its petition to unionize registered nurses at
two Detroit Medical Center hospitals, the National Labor Relations
Board confirmed Wednesday. The association said it withdrew its
petition to unionize at Harper University and Hutzel Women's hospitals
because the DMC was dragging out hearings before the board and setting
the stage for future litigation and appeals that could have taken years
to resolve. ... DMC

Union Coalition for Better Nursing Care is formed. Dawn Jones, WJRT, January 26, 2007 Genesee County - Nurses unions from Genesee County's three major hospitals have joined forces. They have formed "The Union Coalition for Better Nursing Care." And their first mission is a public service campaign about nurse/patient ratios. The coalition is striving for better nursing care, and they believe one measure of achieving this is through nurse/patient ratios. They say this equation is a critical part of your overall health care service during a hospital stay. The nurses are members of the Union Coalition for Better Nursing Care. They want established guidelines for acceptable nurse-to-patient ratios. ... Nurses

Rich Adams, Cheboygan Daily Tribune, December 1, 2006 Cheboygan - Cheboygan Memorial Hospital is the target of an unfair labor practice charge filed by the Michigan Nurses Association with the National Labor Relations Board. The charge asserts that the hospital failed to bargain in good faith when it made a unilateral change in mandatory terms and conditions of the nurses' employment, specifically related to overtime. “There are two negotiated methods of paying overtime to RNs in our contract, and the hospital is attempting to eliminate one of them without negotiating with the union,” says Michigan Nurses Association Staff Council Chair Margaret Johnson. ... Nurses

CBS4, October 30, 2006 Emmet County - After nearly four years, the nations longest nurses strike may finally be over. A Northern Michigan Hospital spokesperson says the National Labor Relations Board notified them of the change Thursday. The NMH spokesperson says Teamsters Local 406 has withdrawn its election petition and objections to the June 2nd, 2005 Nurse Representation Election. ... Longest

According to the Michigan Nurses Association, the union representing about 200 registered nurses at both hospitals, nurses will receive a pay increase of 3 percent per year, with additional lump sum payments to counter the increased cost of health care. Adrian Daily Telegram, October 10, 2006 Adrian - Nurses at Bixby Medical Center in Adrian and Herrick Memorial Hospital in Tecumseh voted Saturday to ratify a new three-year contract, ending several months of negotiations. According to the Michigan Nurses Association, the union representing about 200 registered nurses at both hospitals, nurses will receive a pay increase of 3 percent per year, with additional lump sum payments to counter the increased cost of health care. ... Nurses

Move calls those who assign 'supervisors'. Alejandro Bodipo-Memba, Detroit Free Press, October 4, 2006 Nurses in Michigan who assign duties to other nurses can be designated as supervisors and kept out of unions, the National Labor Relations Board said Tuesday in a decision that labor groups say jeopardizes the organizing rights of hundreds of thousands of the country's 2.6 million registered nurses. The NLRB's decision in a case involving the 257-bed Oakwood Hospital in Taylor, is a follow-up to a 2001 Supreme Court decision in a Kentucky case that broadened the definition of supervisors exempt from union coverage. ... Unions

2 hospitals seek to cut leave, benefits.
Katie Merx, Detroit Free Press, July 11, 2006

Nurses at two Lenawee County hospitals voted to authorize a strike in response to a management proposal to reduce nurses' health benefits and paid leave.

The vote June 30 means the union could serve the two-hospital Lenawee Health Alliance with a 10-day notice of intent to strike at any time.

Lenawee Health Alliance, a division of Toledo-based ProMedica Health System, operates Bixby Medical Center in Adrian and Herrick Memorial Hospital in Tecumseh. ... Lenawee

A proposed law would allow out-of-staters to practice here without separate license; union balks.
Sharon Terlep, Detroit News, February 27, 2006

Michigan lawmakers think they've found a way to help ease the state's nursing shortage and make it easier for patients to get nursing help over the phone and on the Internet.

But the state's major nursing union, which represents about 1,800 caregivers, is prepared to fight the plan. ... Michigan

Scott Swanson, Mining Journal, February 24, 2006

Marquette - The United Auto Workers union has initiated organizing efforts at the region's largest employer.

This is the third attempt by a union to organize non-represented workers at Marquette General Health System. The United Steelworkers of America tried twice before, the last time in 1999. ... UAW

Michigan Nurses Association, February 23, 2006

Okemos - The Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) spoke out today in opposition of HB 5493, also known as the Nurse Licensure Compact. HB 5493 would allow registered nurses licensed in other states to practice in Michigan. MNA has identified the following concerns ... MNA

Jeff Alexander, Muskegon Chronicle, February 20, 2006

Registered nurses at Hackley Hospital have ratified a three-year contract that includes pay raises and benefit changes.

The 300 nurses, who are members of the Michigan Nurses Association, will receive a 3 percent pay raise each year of the contract, in addition to previously negotiated salary step increases and increased pay for "on-call" duty. The deal is retroactive to last Oct. 31 and runs through Oct. 31, 2008.

The nurses' union also negotiated several changes in time-off policies. ... Hackley

Associated Press, February 6, 2006

Petoskey - The Teamsters union has closed its office across the street from Northern Michigan Hospital, but spokesmen say that doesn't signal any change in the three-year nurses strike against the hospital.

Teamsters Local 406 closed the Petoskey office last week "due to the landlord wanting another lease to be signed and the office being used less and less," business agent Curtis Brown said on a union Web site.

He said communications would be maintained through Traverse City, and he would continue representing the strikers. ... Teamsters

Toni E. Buhagiar-Miles-Gorris, Fenton, Detroit Free Press, February 4, 2006

As a professional in the health care field, I know how hard it is to get health care providers to Michigan. If we want to attract the best, we have to become the best and offer the best. In the meantime, you or a loved one should always have an advocate who can speak for you when you enter the hospital. Advocates and family members can be informed how to spot a reaction to a medication, to know if someone's pain level is too high, if a surgical dressing is loose. All of these things could be reported ASAP to the RN on duty. I am not advocating family members attempt anything themselves. This might be something for the Michigan Nursing (sic) Association to add to their agenda - the 10 most common things family members can be watchful for and help with.

Joe Znoy, RN, Sterling Heights, Detroit Free Press, February 4, 2006

Many nurses have simply left the profession due to fatigue and burnout caused by understaffing. Mandating safe nurse-patient ratios would bring many of these "retired" nurses back.

Copyright © 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc.