ADRIAN, Mich. — Nurses at ProMedica's Hickman Hospital in Adrian have reached a tentative three-year contract agreement the day after the nurses held a "practice strike" as a final warning to the healthcare giant, the Michigan Nursing Association announced Wednesday night.
In a press release just before 11 p.m., MNA said not long after the practice strike Tuesday afternoon, hospital administration offered two gains: it would not establish the two-tier retirement system that the union opposed and would bump the wage scale's ceiling to over $50 per hour by the end of the contract.
The union must ratify the agreement in order to finalize it. A vote is scheduled for Feb. 7.
“MNA nurses have sent a clear and unmistakable message to ProMedica executives: we are union strong, and we are unafraid to advocate for what is right,” Tracy Webb, a critical care nurse and president of the Michigan Nurses Association local at Hickman Hospital said in a press release. “As nurses, we were fighting for the future of our community. We feel that the gains in this agreement will help us recruit and retain RNs so we can keep our patients safe every shift.”
Webb also noted that MNA's gains in the negotiations bode well for other nursing unions engaged in contract bargaining.
“If you are a nurse at a different hospital reading this, my message to you is simple. You have more strength when you are united as a union than you ever could if you are divided and alone,” Webb said. “Never let anyone tell you that you don’t have power when you act together in solidarity. You have more strength than you could ever know.”
ProMedica did not respond to an after-hours request for comment.