Registered nurses at McLaren Lapeer Region Hospital have reached a tentative contract agreement after months of bargaining and a previous unanimous vote to give their bargaining team the ability to call for a strike if necessary.
Carie Babcock, a nurse at McLaren Lapeer and president of their local Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) bargaining unit believes that the tentative agreement achieves the union members’ goals when it comes to staffing the hospital safely and providing compensation that will recruit and retain nurses in the community.
No additional details of the tentative agreement, which was reached Saturday, will be publicly released until after the membership has had a chance to review and vote on it. The agreement only becomes final if ratified by the membership. A ratification vote is scheduled for Thursday, June 29 ; results will be publicly released Friday, June 30.
Nurses held an informational picket last month with more than 100 people in attendance. Negotiations have been ongoing since March, with contracts for the approximately 250 nurses at McLaren Lapeer expiring May 9.
Nurses say in that contract, there was no limit to the nurse to patient ratio, which ultimately had a negative impact on patient care. They called for a new contract that sets clear guidelines for safe patient-to-nurse ratios, as well as an improved compensation package.
Nurses representatives met with McLaren officials Thursday, May 25, for further negotiations, resuming discussions on June 5, 7, 13 and 15.
