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4 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 MICHIGAN Solidarity forever! A s autoworkers hit the strike lines in Michigan and around the country, nurses answered the call to stand in solidarity. Michigan Nurses Association members understood that their fight was a fight for the future of all workers. At MNA's annual convention, members unanimously passed a resolution stating in part: "Our communities benefit when a giant multinational corporation like the Big Three are forced to treat workers and the families and communities they support with dignity. […] The Michigan Nurses Association stands in solidarity with UAW workers in bargaining, on strike, and who may need to strike to preserve, protect, and advance their quality of life." MNA sent supplies and solidarity to lines across Michigan. Nurses turned out both to Big Three strike lines and to UAW strikes lines for BlueCross BlueShield workers, who also had picket lines up across the state. Nurses understand that the labor movement is strongest when we are united and in solidarity with one another. Autoworkers' fight is our fight—and vice versa! How 150 MNA members in Marinette took on one of the largest health systems in the country—and won When Advocate Aurora began contract nego- tiations with nurses in Marinette, Wis. ( just on the other side of the border from Michi- gan)—they were demanding massive concessions. The giant health system has very few unionized facilities, and they wanted to run Aurora Medical Center–Bay Area unilat- erally. At one point, they even wanted to take the ability to negotiate wages out of the con- tract and have no guaranteed raises. MNA members knew that they would need to get organized and be united if they were going to fight back. Immediately, they focused on increasing their membership numbers and were able to increase density by 25 percent. The elected bargaining team polled members on management's proposal to eliminate demo- cratic say—and received a resounding rejection. The growing momentum changed the tone at negotiations. Now, instead of just fighting back against concessions, the mem- bership was able to push for gains. When the membership called for a rally to share their concerns with the community, Aurora saw the writing on the wall and agreed to a landmark contract with the nurses and health care professionals at Bay. "We are proud of this deal. Thanks to the solidarity that union members showed at our hospital, we have been able to win fair wages, improved health and safety provi- sions, and new staffing language. This shows the power of workers coming together as a union," said Emily Peretto, RN, and presi- dent of the local union. The membership unanimously voted to ratify the agreement. Fighting back against outsourcing nurse jobs to a private equity firm Nurses are raising the alarm after Michigan Medicine executives have started to make changes at the hospital. The health system's administration announced plans to enact budget cuts and outsource the Hospital Care at Home unit to the venture capital firm Medically Home. In response, nurses shared their concerns with the University of Michi- gan's Board of Regents. Over a dozen nurses in the Hospital Care at Home will have their jobs outsourced in Feb- ruary 2024 as a result of Michigan Medicine's decision to subcontract with Medically Home. "It's so disappointing, both for our patients and for my coworkers. I am devastated that Michigan Medicine executives made this deci- sion," said Jeffrey Wood, a nurse in the Hospital Care at Home department. "It is very concerning that the University of Michigan has chosen to outsource unionized jobs to a private equity firm. I fear it is our patients who may end up paying the price." —Staff report NEWS BRIEFS Showing solidarity and more Supporting autoworkers, Advocate Aurora win, and fighting corporate health care