Nurses picket in the Sault; hospital boss says good offer is on the table. Who’s right?

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (WJMN) — Tensions amid prolonged contract negotiations are bringing forward concerns from both nurses and management at MyMichigan Medical Center Sault.

The hospital’s nurses picketed in front of the hospital Tuesday afternoon. Among their claims was the concern that a lower raise in their new contract would push new talent to other hospitals offering higher wages, and a lost sense of community after managers of the then-War Memorial Hospital chose to join the MyMichigan hospital network.

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Abigail Menard, who has worked at the hospital for over 10 years, said it’s as simple as cause-and-effect. “I do think that is the big ticket here–we know that if we sign a contract that isn’t promoting the recruiting and the retention of our ends to our facility, we aren’t just accepting a lower hourly wage for the next three years. We are accepting that we aren’t the greener pastures that nurses are looking for.”

“What I used to love about working at War Memorial was the feeling of family,” said Elizabeth Pancheri, a 28-year veteran of the nursing staff. “You really felt like you were always a part of the group that cared and looked out for each other and the community. But since MyMichigan took over, there’s a feeling much more corporate. We are—You are not part of decision making. You are just a cog in the wheel.”

A press release from the Michigan Nurses Association also highlighted concerns about anti-union conduct. The charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board allege discipline, retaliation and changing of terms or conditions of employment in a case filed in May of 2022 and settled in January of this year.

According to the Soo Leader, the hospital’s transition to the MyMichigan network began in February of 2022.

President of MyMichigan Medical Center Sault Kevin Kalchik declined to comment on the NLRB charges or settlement, but spoke with Local 3 at length about his reaction to the picket, ongoing negotiations, and MyMichigan network transition.

Kalchik said despite the hospital’s new branding, most aspects of their operation have stayed the same. “The management here locally is exactly the same. Our board is exactly the same.”

“In regards to ‘we’ve changed and we’re not a family anymore,'” said Kalchik, “I don’t believe that’s true. I’ve worked here for 20 years now and all our staff care about the community. We say hi in the hallway to everybody that we pass. We say hi to the community as they come into the hospital here.”

On the nurses’ contracts, Kalchik said the hospital has offered an 18% raise over three years, with 12% happening in in the first year. “The increase is probably two or three times greater of an increase in one year or in the span of a contract than we’ve ever had in the past 20 years.”

That would land their pay around $43/hour, according to Kalchik. Despite that, nursing staff say it isn’t enough to compete with other hospitals.

“Every time a coworker leaves to go somewhere else with higher pay and better benefits, my heart just drops,” said Pancheri.

As of March 13th, no deal had been struck. Kalchik said he expects all parties to reach an agreement soon.

“It can be difficult, but change is necessary for us”

The decision to become a part of the MyMichigan hospital network was made from a standpoint of financial concern but not catastrophe, said Kalchik.

“We didn’t want to be like that hospital in Cheboygan that chose to join somebody when the wheels had fallen off of us.”

We discussed the recent transition of Aspirus’s Ontonagon Hospital to a rural health clinic due in part to difficult financing. “[that] could happen here eventually,” Kalchik said. “For a rural hospital, we have O.B. services, dialysis, inpatient, behavioral health, a lot of other different specialties that rural communities our size do not have… so it’s important for us to really monitor our financial resources while we’re treating all of our staff very fairly.”

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While nurses associate the shift to MyMichigan with an injury to its sense of community, Kalchik says the network’s support has made it possible to keep all its current services running.

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Amelia Dornbush with the Michigan Nurses Association says local nurses suspect MyMichigan executives of continuing anti-union behavior, and that they are frustrated by demands for concessions that were not asked for in non-union nursing contracts.

Dornbush added that now War Memorial is now a MyMichigan facility, nurses want pay parity with other hospitals in the network.

“Despite our hospital not being one of their big moneymakers,” said Menard, “that doesn’t change the fact that we are showing up all those days and still doing the same job, carrying the same workload.”

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Kalchik insists that MyMichigan is not creating any issues at the facility, and called the nursing staff an amazing part of their care team.

The nurses say that staff who participated in the picket were not on the clock, and patient care was not affected. Menard said she wants to thank the community members who joined them, and reassure people that the nursing staff will continue showing up to provide compassionate care to the community.

This is a developing story. Stay up-to-date with the latest information on-air and online.

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