Negotiations fail again as Sault nurses return to the picket line
SAULT STE. MARIE — After another failed round of negotiations, nurses at MyMichigan Medical Center Sault are continuing to organize picket lines and raise awareness for their cause.
The latest round of negotiations took place on Friday, May 10, with neither side coming to agreement on pay and benefit issues that have been the sticking point in the months-long contract negotiations.
The main point of disagreement involves wages. Nurses claim they aren't being paid fairly, especially when compared to other MyMichigan hospitals. Hospital officials, on the other hand, said they have been more than fair with their offers.
In the most recent round of negotiations, MyMichigan offered a raise that would bring nurses from $37 to $44.77, what MyMichigan called the largest raise in its history. According to hospital officials, this matches what the nurses asked for and exceeds other MyMichigan hospitals.
According to research provided by the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA), Sault nurses make less than other comparable hospitals in Alma, Alpena, Marquette and Petoskey. Top earning Alpena nurses make $45.49.
MyMichigan officials claim that these wages are misinformation spread by MNA and Alpena wages are actually at $44.70.
"Our proposal is historically the highest increase we have ever given to nurses and that's because we value them. They do a great job. They care about their patients, they care about our community," said MyMichigan Medical Center Sault President Kevin Kalchik. "It's just unfortunate that MNA wants to pursue their statewide agenda in our small community."
More: Sault nurses officially go on strike
MyMichigan officials also assert that the offer of $44.77 an hour is higher than it seems because it also includes benefits that bring the value of the offer even higher than Alpena.
"I can't say it any clearer than the fact that we've given them an offer that's higher than Alpena," said Kalchik. "They've asked us again and again to give us what other MyMichigan hospitals are and we did."
MyMichigan officials said they have met every demand set by the nurses, but the nurses deny this and claim the hospital is not taking their demands seriously.
The nurses argue that they will be losing money overall because of the increased cost of health care.
"The health insurance that they're offering right now would actually, with the wages that they're offering us, some of the nurses would actually be losing a significant amount of money," said registered nurse Brittany Barrett.
The nurses said that in order for negotiations to end, the hospital would have to match the wage of MyMichigan Alma hospital, where top earning nurses are making $48.92 and are expected to get a raise within the year.
"MyMichigan has shown that they're just not willing to invest in their nurses and not willing to invest in this community," said Barrett.
Subscribe: Get unlimited access to our content
More: Next round of negotiations set for Sault nurses
The negotiations at this point have been going on since October, and nurses have been working without a contract since January. The MNA reports that several nurses have left the hospital during this timeframe, and they claim that if negotiations go on much longer it could have a serious impact on the hospital's ability to maintain safe staffing numbers.
"We're willing to do whatever it takes to get a fair contract for us, for our community to be able to recruit and retain nurses because right now we're losing nurses at an alarming rate," said Barrett.
MyMichigan officials said the hospital, along with every hospital in the state, is dealing with hiring issues across the board, but said they have not lost a significant number of staff in the months since the contract expired.
The next negotiation is set to take place on May 30. In the meantime, the nurses plan to picket again on May 16. The Michigan Nurses Association also plans on speaking at the Chippewa County Commission meeting on May 16.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Negotiations fail again as Sault nurses return to the picket line
