Striking nurses at Lansing, Michigan’s Ingham Regional Medical Center (IRMC) said no to a management proposal on Tuesday. The nurses said the proposal will not resolve staffing issues. The hospital’s proposal offered to form a committee to review staffing.
Union officials representing about 500 nurses at the center said staffing remains the key issue of contention, and they want the hospital to hire more nurses.
"That (the hospital proposal) didn't do it for the nurses," Joseph Marutiak of the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 459 told the Lansing State Journal. "We'd return to work without one single nurse being added (under the proposal). They're not taking the nurses seriously."
Over 90% of the hospitals RN’s walked off the job a week ago today and continue to picket.
"We didn't make this decision lightly," says Tasinda Ridsdale, R.N. of their move to strike. "We agonized over it, and we believe this is what we got to do."
"We're not striking for money. It's about staffing," Chris Veldman, a registered nurse and member of the union's bargaining committee
The Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 459 says nurses have been forced to work double shifts and work many short-staffed shifts. Jeffrey Fleming, a union representative said, “They believe this has negative effects on patient care and patient safety.” Fleming also stated, "(The nurses) proposed to increase staffing, but Ingham refused to add a single nurse. This has been a problem for years."
The hospital, following the course of others in the industry, turned the care of its patients over to 206 temporary nurses hired from U.S. Nursing Corporation, an infamous strike breaking company. It is paying these nurses far more than it has ever offered its own.
The Lansing State Journal says, “When one looks at the issues leading the nurses at IRMC to call for a strike, not many people would question their decision. As hospital management offers came and went, one thing remained constant: the lowering of benefits for hard-working employees. Ingham management attempted time and again to get a lower retirement multiplier and wages not in line with other area hospitals. It possessed a firm commitment not to discuss nurse to patient ratios at the bargaining table.”
The newspaper also says, “Finally, the pay increases for the hospital president and other upper management over the last five years would make any blue-collar union member sick to their stomach! The president's benefit package alone is more than $250,000, with his pay doubling in total amount during this time period. How can a true leader of a corporation ask his employees to "sacrifice" for the good of the company during tough times if he alone has benefited so immensely?”
While the hospital has been unable to help out the nurses, it has broken ground on building a new addition. However, at the building site union contractors walked off the job to show support for the striking nurses last Wednesday. Sources: WILX (Lansing), WLNS (Michigan), Lansing State Journal, Detroit Free Press, State News (Michigan State University)
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