"When nurses are outside, there's something wrong inside."
That was one of several chants heard in front of MyMichigan Medical Center Sault this morning as Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) union nurses officially started striking.
Over 80 nurses, with many more family and community members, started picketing right at 6:45 a.m. on the public sidewalk near the Emergency Department parking lot.
After 14 weeks of failed negotiations with MyMichigan executives, MNA decided there was no other choice but to strike in protest.
The last meeting for negotiations was last Wednesday which produced no agreement.
Union nurses have been without a contract since the first of the year.
Colleen Waucaush, Union President at MyMichigan Sault, says they are fighting for wages and benefits comparable to other medical centers in the MyMichgan system. That in return, would help retain quality nurses, she said.
However, she says this was something that could have been negotiated a long time ago.
"A lot of us did see this (strike) coming. We have been fighting for this fair contract for a long time," Waucaush said.
But MyMichigan Sault's President, Kevin Kalchik, says they have offered the union nurses what they want.
Kalchik noted that MNA did not even offer the union nurses a chance to vote with MyMichigan's offer this past Wednesday.
"We have given them a significant offer. If they (MNA) give our nurses the opportunity for the nurses to vote on it, I feel they will ratify it," Kalchik said.
Waucaush said she did present the latest offer to the nurses.
"They kept saying they wanted us to take the contract to the union for a vote. We did not take it to them for an official vote but we showed them what the offer was, and unanimously it was a big no," Waucaush said.
Waucaush said while wages are a big part of the negotiations, benefits and safer staffing is also important.
Kalchik, however, explains that the current offer on the table is what the union has asked for.
"I think the entire negotiation is about wages. Benefits are a part of wages. We have given them an offer they asked for. We have exceeded Alpena's wage top of scale. And with that, what we expect of them is to have the same benefits that the other 8,000 MyMichigan employees have, just as I do," Kalchik explained.
One life-long Sault Ste. Marie resident, and now Emergency Department nurse, has a family and wants to stay in this area.
Alexis Laaksonen says if MyMichigan doesn't meet her needs, she may have to move.
"I don't want to leave, but if I have to, it is unfortunate. I really don't want to leave. This has been my dream career as an emergency room nurse," Laaksonen said.
Laaksonen hopes fresh negotiations on Thursday may end this strike.
"We actually have offered to negotiate every single day. We are very hopeful that MyMichigan will negotiate with our union stewards, but we have heard nothing from them, but we have offered every day," Laaksonen said.
Waucaush, along with the other nurses, are frustrated with the failed negotiations.
"This has been going on a long time. It feels like we are just banging our heads. It's frustrating," Waucaush explained.
There have been questions by the union nurses why MyMichigan has recently spent $10,000 on an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system and not invest the money in the nurses.
Kalchik wanted to clarify the reasoning behind this.
"EHR is an essential investment into our patient quality and safety as it allows us to track and retrieve data which supports nurses and doctors at the patient's bedside," Kalchik said.
Kalchik also feels MyMichigan is investing in the nurses seriously.
"In 2014 (when it was War Memorial Hospital) top of scale was $32. Right now it is $37. We know that is low. MyMichigan is coming in here investing in our nurses by increasing it in one day, if they ratify the contract, by $7.77/hour. MyMichigan is investing in our nurses in one year, more than we have in the past ten from the top-of-scale perspective," Kalchik explained.
Kalchik added that nurses from other MyMichigan Medical Centers are filling in while this strike continues.
