Sparrow Hospital workers call for fairer pay and better benefits at Wednesday’s “informational strike,” November 2021. | Anna Gustafson
The union representing approximately 2,000 nurses and health care professionals at the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow in Lansing says it will conduct a five-day strike beginning at 7 a.m. Jan. 20.
The Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital-Michigan Nurses Association (PECSH-MNA), which has been working without a contract since it expired Oct. 30, provided mandatory notice Tuesday of their intention to strike.
It followed a vote in December by 98.7% of members to authorize the bargaining team to call a strike if needed.
The union said while there had been some recent progress, negotiations since August have overall “failed to produce a contract that meets the caregivers’ needs for affordable healthcare, competitive wages, and safe working conditions.”
Additionally, PECSH-MNA says it has also filed federal unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging a pattern of bad-faith bargaining by UMH-Sparrow that included: