Michigan members fight for fair contract

MNA health care professionals say they deserve more than a logo change

By Dawn Kettinger

National Nurse magazine - Oct | Nov | Dec 2024 Issue

When University of Michigan Health (U of M Health) bought Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) members there had high hopes. 

But now, as members negotiate their first contract with the new owners, it’s clear that U of M Health is not committed to investing in the front line—and MNA members at Sparrow are calling them out on it, holding an informational picket in November and voting in December to authorize the bargaining team to call a strike.

The Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital-Michigan Nurses Association (PECSH-MNA) represents about 2,000 registered nurses and health care professionals in more than 50 categories at what is now University of Michigan Health-Sparrow Hospital. Their contract expired Oct. 30. U of M Health-Sparrow recently reported that it has broken ground on a $32 million health care facility in Greater Lansing, in addition to planning a $97 million psychiatric hospital in Lansing. “Our community deserves for the University of Michigan to invest in the people providing the care, not just in new buildings,” said Jeff Breslin, RN, president of PECSH-MNA.

“There is no nursing shortage—there is a shortage of nurses and health care professionals willing to work at the wages and in the conditions that Sparrow is offering,” said Breslin. “Our first priority is recruiting and retaining enough staff so that we can safely take care of every patient at all times, and that won’t happen without competitive pay, affordable health care, and a safe workplace.” The health system has spent unknown amounts on “rebranding” to the university’s block “M,” inspiring many members to use the slogan “We deserve more than a logo change.”

“All we’ve seen since U of M Health took over is new signs and new uniforms,” said Leah Rasch, RN, PECSH-MNA grievance chair and co-chair of the bargaining committee. “U of M Health-Sparrow nurses continue to suffer moral injury due to having to take care of too many patients, even as executives blame the manufactured ‘nurse shortage.’”

“To add insult to injury, we’ve heard that managers and administrators recently got bonuses while offering us, the ones who actually provide care, inadequate wages and almost unaffordable health insurance,” Rasch continued. “That’s no way to solve the nurse retention crisis. We’re fighting not just for ourselves but also for our community to have the care they deserve.”

Breslin pointed out that Sparrow is the region’s largest hospital and the only Level 1 Trauma Center.

“U of M Health has the resources and responsibility to invest in the skilled professionals who provide the care for our community,” Breslin said. “What we’re asking for is only fair: competitive wages that beat inflation, health care for ourselves and our families that we can afford, and safety for us, for our patients, and for our visitors.” U of M Health-Sparrow executives have refused to agree to the union’s proposal for simple safety measures at the hospital, which had a bullet shot through its front lobby window this year.

And in addition to inadequate wage offers, many caregivers will pay hundreds of dollars more for health insurance each month under the employer’s proposal. “I’m worried about being able to afford health care for myself and my family, given raises that don’t even make up for inflation combined with drastically higher costs for health insurance,” said Lindsey Davis, LMSW, a social worker in behavioral health and a member of the PECSH-MNA bargaining team. “I’m proud to work at a job that allows me to give back to the community. I’m proud of the care that my colleagues and I provide. We also need to be able to take care of ourselves and our families as we serve others.”