Earlier this week, the Michigan Medicine bargaining team met with representatives from the Michigan Nurses Association/University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council to begin negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. The goal for Michigan Medicine is to work collaboratively with MNA/UMPNC representatives to develop a new contract that continues supporting our nurses as they provide the highest quality and safest care for our patients.
We recognize that the last two years have been incredibly challenging, particularly for health care providers. As an organization, we asked a lot of you, and you all have continued to rise to the challenge. However, we also acknowledge the toll this has taken and that all of our team members, nurses in particular, are experiencing significant work-related stress and burnout. This pandemic has helped us see where we can strengthen our processes and implement new procedures that will enable us to better support our employees and be more flexible in the future.
Michigan Medicine’s initial proposal, which was presented to MNA/UMPNC on Tuesday, reflects some of the changes we believe will support our nurses and help Michigan Medicine stay true to our mission, vision, and values. This proposal includes the following:
- Across the board salary increases
- Preserving current state of benefits including health care premiums and retirement match
- Changes aimed at streamlining administration of the contract including payroll processes
- Changes designed to support staffing on units
The proposals that we are putting forward include some new components but also a lot of administrative “clean-up” that will help the organization simplify the processes required to maintain the contract.
This initial proposal also represents a starting place – we recognize that MNA/UMPNC will be bringing forth their own proposals and offering counterproposals to what we have put forth, and we remain committed to bargaining with them in good faith to reach a contract that is fair and equitable to our nurses, and enables Michigan Medicine to continue investing in our future and striving to fulfill our mission of advancing health to serve Michigan and the world.
Michigan Medicine will continue to post updates on this page as negotiations continue so please check back for more information. This process will take time, and we all appreciate your patience as the two teams work together to develop the new contract.