Michigan hospital RNs, techs to hold ‘practice strike’

Members of the Michigan Nurses Association at UP Health System-Marquette plan to hold a “practice strike” Aug. 18. 

The union represents about 600 registered nurses and techs at the 222-bed specialty care hospital, according to the MNA. UP Health System-Marquette, part of Brentwood, Tenn.-based Lifepoint Health, has more than 1,800 employees total.

Union members are negotiating with the hospital over two separate contracts, according to the union. Nurses began bargaining March 18, and techs began bargaining March 19. The union said the “practice strike” is not a work stoppage; its members will be participating on their own time.

In a news release, the MNA said members are advocating at the bargaining table for solutions to what the union calls a “staffing crisis” at the hospital, including contract protections against what it describes as “unreasonable workloads.” They also seek competitive compensation to attract and retain workers.

“We believe that workers and patients are more important than a Tennessee corporation’s profits,” Josh Bowman, a medical laboratory scientist at the hospital, said in the release. “We’re holding the practice strike to send Lifepoint executives a message: If they don’t start listening to us, we as workers have the power and unity to make a strike a reality.”

At UP Health System – Marquette, providing safe, high-quality care to the people of the Upper Peninsula is a team effort, made possible by the skill, compassion and dedication of our nurses, techs and the support of our entire staff.

UP Health System-Marquette shared the following statement with Becker’s:

“While we respect the MNA’s right to demonstrate, our focus is on continuing to negotiate new collective bargaining agreements with the Michigan Nurses Association that recognize the efforts of our registered nurses and technical employees, and ensure our commitment to quality patient care for our community. 

“We have bargaining scheduled for next week with the MNA for our RNs, and our goal is to reach a new agreement prior to contract expiration at the end of the month. We also have bargaining scheduled for early September with the MNA for our technical employees, and our goal is also to reach a new agreement prior to contract expiration. We will continue to negotiate in good faith as we work to achieve these goals.”

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