Nurses at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital and their allies took the picket lines in their nearly 200-day strike to the state Capitol steps Tuesday.
The Flint-area nurses are seeking lower patient-to-nurse ratios, a guarantee that striking nurses will get their old positions back, and better pay.
Elora Sherer is a nurse in the hospital’s labor and delivery unit. She said the hospital ignores current workload rules by giving nurses more patients than they’re supposed to be caring for at once.
“Damn near every single day we were short. So, you could have an obstetrical emergency, a baby crashing and you’re expected to take on the role of, not just the nurse, but the CNA, the clerk, everything falls on us and our patients get the short stick,” Sherer said.
Henry Ford Health, the system that bought Genesys in 2024, maintains its patients are safe in their care and that its hospitals have received high grades for patient safety.
While the nurses remain on strike, the hospital chain said it’s already starting to meet some of the workers’ demands.
“Union leaders say they want a contract that both attracts and retains highly qualified nurses and ensures safe staffing. That is exactly what the hospital is offering, but Teamsters leaders continue to hold out for a return-to-work agreement that would bump Genesys Hospital nurses who chose to work through the strike or were hired after the strike began out of their positions. That’s unfair and illegal,” a Henry Ford Health spokesperson said in a written statement.
During Tuesday’s rally, the hospital system sent a message to striking workers that highlighted some of its changes. Those included promises to increase wages for some registered nurses by up to 13%, creating new pay rates for high-need hours, and keeping the same staffing ratios from past union contracts.
Teamsters Local 332 members present, however, were not impressed. They accused their employer of being misleading.
Shirley Shinabarger has been nursing in various departments for 15 years. She said relatively few nurses would actually qualify for the higher wages and that, while current contracts set staffing ratios, they’re not enforced.
Beyond that, the strikers worry the promise of a job alone isn’t enough to guarantee workers with seniority would get their old assignments back after the hospital brought in new hires, travel nurses, and others who crossed the picket line.
Shinabarger said the strike has been tough for herself and others, affecting her ability to get medicine for her own health.
“I have to pick and choose which ones I can get, I don’t have insurance. I’ve had to put some bills on hold because now, that we’ve pushed this six-month mark, we were able to maintain it, but now it’s coming down to the wire,” she said. “And I’m not about to cross back and I’m not about to give up because that’s not what this is about.”
Henry Ford Health said it can’t legally meet some of the demands like giving everyone their exact old duties back since new people are already filling some of those roles. Each side disputes the legality of the other’s stance.
After close to 200 days, the impasse doesn’t seem close to breaking. A handful of state officials and candidates for office voiced support for the union during Tuesday’s rally.
Two Democratic candidates for governor, Genesse County Sheriff Chris Swanson and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, spoke, as did two of the Democratic U.S. Senate candidates, former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed and state Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak).
Michigan Teamsters President Kevin Moore said his members will be on the picket line “one day longer” than the other side will be able to hold out. Meanwhile, he said nurses at other hospital systems in Michigan have similar demands as the Genesys nurses for their own contract negotiations.
“You think we’re just done with Henry Ford? We just organized Corewell, 10,000 nurses in nine hospitals. You think there’s not more hospitals in the State of Michigan that want Teamster help? We’re not backing up from any hospital,” Moore said.
On Tuesday evening, nurses at the Corewell Health East system and its nine metro-Detroit hospitals announced that a strike authorization vote had passed. That health care system said talk of a strike was premature, and it's committed to reaching an agreement with the union.