- More than 2,000 workers at University of Michigan Health Sparrow are ready to strike in a couple of weeks
- This comes as Michigan hospitals see a rise in visits related to respiratory illness
- Video shows the union leader explaining how this could impact patients at the hospital
Boxes containing 2,000 red shirts lined a table inside the Michigan Nurses Association in Okemos.
Each of those shirts is intended to go to each caregiver at University of Michigan Health-Sparrow that plans to strike later this month.
Members of the Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital-Michigan Nurses Association (PESCH-MNA) voted overwhelmingly Tuesday night to start striking on January 20.
“Nobody wants a strike,” said Jeff Breslin, the union’s president. “That’s not our goal. That’s not what we’re working for.”
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Breslin says the contract negotiations have been going on since August with the last agreement expiring on October 30. Since then Breslin says about 2,000 caregivers have been working without a contract.