Nearly 10,000 Michigan Nurses Win Union Election
Nurses in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan nurses, nearly 10,000 strong, working for the giant conglomerate Corewell Health have voted to join the Teamsters union. It was one of the largest union votes in the last 20 years, which concluded on November 15. The nurses are in the Detroit metro area at eight hospitals and one outpatient facility. Organizing had to take place across all nine campuses. Corewell used one of the most expensive and aggressive union-busting campaigns against the nurses -– and lost.
Nurses organizing for the union tabled at shift changes to provide
information and have discussions with fellow workers about their
concerns, the rights of workers to organize and play a role in their
union. Tabling took place at Royal Oak, the largest hospital and
elsewhere, to mobilize fellow
workers on the need to get organized. Rallies also played a role and
helped win public support.
Nurses contended with management regularly taking down their flyers by creating a private Facebook page where people felt safe to discuss and exchange educational materials. They made creative use of TikTok and Instagram to inform fellow nurses and encourage broad support. The lead organizers used an encrypted app to stay connected with each other across the nine campuses.
Nurses also used social media to counter the threats and misinformation spread by Corewell, using informants. These corporate efforts backfired and angered those looking into joining the union. People got the names of these corporate informants, being paid hundreds of dollars an hour, and created wanted posters to alert everyone to beware of their lies and fearmongering.
The 9,755 registered nurses will now be part of Nurses for Nurses, a committee with the Michigan Teamsters Joint Council No. 43. They include full-time and part-time nurses as well as those who work on a contingency or flex basis, including charge nurses. Charge nurses oversee patient care, delegate tasks, and address concerns. They must also ensure that nursing functions run smoothly and efficiently, and that care meets legal and regulatory requirements. Charge nurses may also take inventory of supplies and order needed items.
Among the demands of the registered nurses are establishing and enforcing nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, increased wages and benefits and an end to the many cuts imposed, often creating unsafe conditions for nurses and patients alike.
Health care workers across the country are among those facing major staffing shortages, in part because giant monopolies are buying up local, often public, hospitals and imposing major cuts. With the short staffing and unsafe conditions, many nurses and other health care workers are refusing to work. As they emphasize, there is not a shortage of nurses, there is a shortage of safe and respectful working conditions.
Corewell is no different. It bought out local hospitals and, rather than ensuring the needed staff to provide for patients' well-being, it merged departments, cut staff and forced nurses to do far more work. It also imposed a two-tier system where new nurses do not get pensions and other benefits; holidays have been eliminated and pay is low. It also forced a new insurance plan on the workers, doubling the out-of-pocket maximum before insurance kicks in and increasing prescription costs. As is typical with health care giants, Corewell is also the primary owner of the insurance provider.
Corewell is part of a larger process of hospital mergers, consolidations, and privatization, which have been rampant in the U.S. over the last 30 years. Public community hospitals and clinics are absorbed into larger networks, sold, and then resold as private interests make more and more profit. More than 68 per cent of hospitals are now part of these giant monopolies. Corewell's hospital in Wayne, a suburb of Detroit, for example, had five different corporations own it, with sales providing big profits for private interests while conditions worsened.
Nurses at Corewell said enough is enough and decided to get organized. They know that having a union is one important step. Many people were mobilized and active for the campaign and work is continuing to maintain the unity achieved and build on their momentum to ensure they have a say in their workplaces and in their union. They plan to continue using their various means for discussing with each other and remaining connected across all nine locations. They are also looking to work with other nurses striving to get organized.
This article was published in
Friday, December 13, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/ITN2024/Articles/TI54683.HTM
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