Strike authorization vote starts Dec. 4
LANSING – The union representing 2,000 nurses and healthcare professionals at University of Michigan-Health Sparrow is raising questions about the closure of the health insurance plan that the corporation bought when it acquired Sparrow. The plan covers many of the caregivers and about 64,000 members total, according to a Crain’s Grand Rapids Business article today.
The timing of the announced closure and the lack of a clear replacement plan both raise serious questions.
The Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital-Michigan Nurses Association (PECSH-MNA) is in negotiations for a new contract with U of M Health-Sparrow; its contract expired Oct. 30. The cost and coverage of health insurance had already been a key sticking point in negotiations, which have been ongoing since August. The union was only notified last week of plans to close the health insurance plan, leaving caregivers without a concrete option after next year.
“Many of U of M Health Sparrow’s thousands of employees rely on the health insurance plan, which we were told was one of Sparrow’s assets that attracted U of M Health to buy Sparrow,” said Jeff Breslin, RN, president of PECSH-MNA. “Did U of M Health buy the plan just to shut it down? It’s impossible to believe that no higher-ups knew about the plan’s financial troubles before U of M Health bought Sparrow. At the least, they should have known. And to drop this bomb on healthcare workers during negotiations – to take away coverage of the very care we provide without a solid option – is just unacceptable.”
PECSH-MNA held an informational picket earlier this month, with nearly 1,000 caregivers and community members attending. Although negotiations continue next week, the health insurance debacle is complicated by U of M Health-Sparrow’s failure to offer competitive wages that will help ease the hospital’s staffing crisis – let alone attract enough nurses and healthcare professionals to staff its planned $97 million psychiatric hospital in Lansing and $32 million health center near Grand Ledge. This is on top of nearly $1 billion U of M Health is spending on a new hospital on its Ann Arbor campus.
“Since U of M came to town with big promises, the only change we’ve seen is the big block M all over the place,” Breslin said. “The closure of the health insurance plan only adds to the distrust at the negotiating table and reinforces our decision to hold a strike authorization vote to show the employer we’re serious about getting what caregivers need as we try to ensure we can take care of our families while we take care of our community.
With U of M Health-Sparrow refusing to move on wages, health insurance and workplace safety issues, PECSH-MNA leaders announced earlier this month that the union will hold a strike authorization vote starting Dec. 4, with results tallied on Dec. 11. A strike authorization does not guarantee a strike – it simply gives the elected bargaining team the ability to call a strike if necessary.
The Michigan Nurses Association, which includes the Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital (PECSH-MNA), is the largest union and professional association for registered nurses and healthcare professionals in Michigan. MNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United and AFL-CIO.
Contact: Dawn Kettinger: 517-721-9688