According to Colleen Waucaush, president of the Nurses Union at MyMichigan Medical Center Sault (MMMCS), the more than 100 union nurses who currently work for MMMCS feel they are being let down by the administration that took over War Memorial Hospital (WMH).
"Before MyMichigan took us over, our hospital felt like it was oriented towards our community. It felt like what we were doing was more than just profit-making. Now that MyMichigan has taken over, it feels like we’re a cog in the machine. It seems like they focus on buildings and new flooring rather than people. It just feels like there isn’t the same family atmosphere anymore. As nurses, we’re using our voice as a union to keep our hospital’s care geared towards looking after our patients and each other rather than just making profits for Midland executives," she explained.
Back in 2021, WMH and MidMichigan Health (now MyMichigan Health System based in MIdland) signed an agreement which made War Memorial the eighth medical center in the MidMichigan Health system.
WMH first opened its doors in 1924. In early 2022, it officially became MyMichigan Medical Center Sault (MMMCS).
David Jahn, CEO of WMH at that time in 2021 said, “This agreement continues the positive progress that we have made at War Memorial Hospital. Our affiliation with MidMichigan will provide even more opportunities for our hospital to grow and provide additional services to our community. We are looking towards a bright future ahead,”
Jahn was WMH's CEO for nearly 18 years before retiring in July 2022.
Negotiations between the nurse's union and MMMCS began in October 2023, according to Kevin Kalchik, president of MMMCS.
"We are trying to stay as engaged as possible here locally. I actively engage with all the staff," he said.
Waucaush says their concerns go well beyond wages even though. According to the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA), the top-scale wages for RNs at MMMCS in Sault Ste. Marie is $37 per hour.
According to the MNA, that is substantially lower than Cheboygan Co, and Schoolcraft Co. RNs whose top-scale wages are just under $48 per hour at their local hospitals.
At Marshfield Medical Center in Dickinson County four hours west of Sault Ste. Marie, the top scale wage is just under $54 per hour.
The 2020 census shows that the population in Dickenson County was just under 26,000 at the time. In Chippewa County, it was around 37,000.
Kalchik personally does not have confidence in all the MNA information that is being distributed.
"What they are showing you is top of scale. They are not showing you what people are necessarily making at that same tenured area. They also don't tell you when these other hospitals have gone through their latest negotiations. What I can tell you is that we are in negotiations. We value our nurses tremendously. We value all of our staff. We want to come to an agreement but we cannot just jump to what they think we should be paying them. We have offered them significant pay increases by well over 10 per cent this year. They refused it instantly," he said.
Kalchik says what they are currently offering is comparable to what nurses at MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena are getting paid. MNA data shows the top wages for nurses there get just over $45 per hour.
Waucaush says negotiating with MMMCS is so much different than working with the prior WMH administration.
"There are a little over 120 nurses covered by our union contract. We’re really frustrated by the way MyMichigan executives have chosen to handle their first contract negotiations with us. Negotiating with War Memorial’s previous administration in 2020 back when it was still a community hospital seemed very collaborative and cooperative. The administrators at the time even publicly thanked our nurses’ union for the ideas we brought forward. With MyMichigan’s executives, it’s been a totally different situation. It feels like they treat us very hostilely and resent that we are organized democratically together as a union of nurses. Honestly, their attitude towards engaging with nurses in negotiations really mirrors a lot of the concerns we have in general about the way they approach patient care," she said.
In addition to negotiating wages, Waucaush says patient safety is a priority.
"As nurses, our number one priority is making sure that our patients are kept safe. Ultimately, our end goal is to have a contract that makes sure that we have safe staffing for all of the patients who might want to come to our hospital. We are advocating to make sure that we have wages that are competitive enough to recruit and retain nurses. All we’re asking for is to have wages in line with what our sister MyMichigan facilities have. If MyMichigan has the resources to pay nurses down state over $50/hr at top of scale, why not here? Many of our local nurses have had to leave the area whether to travel or relocate to a hospital that pays more," she added.
The longer this stalemate continues, Waucaush says the more frustration grows.
"As unionized nurses, we have a collective voice we can use to challenge MyMichigan. It’s clear to us that they are antagonistic towards nurses’ unions. MyMichigan appears to be trying to take away basic benefits that we have had for years during negotiations just because we’re a union. These include things as basic as just being able to cash out our PTO. MyMichigan also wants to be allowed to give nurses less of a bonus than the non-union staff and charge us higher insurance premiums than the non-union staff. We know that our union – which is really just all of us nurses organized together as a group – is a defence for our community against corporate healthcare. We don’t want to allow MyMichigan to weaken us by taking away our rights," she concluded.
There has been plenty of concern and disappointment expressed on social media concerning the takeover of WMH by MyMichigan Medical, but Kalchik said the takeover was needed.
Kalchik said MMMCS lost around $5 million last year. When WMH lost $3 million in 2018, there were massive cuts.
"We had wage restrictions. We cut back on services. We froze hiring. We didn't think about expanding services," he said.
But now because they are part of the MyMichigan family, Kalchik does not have to take such measures and have recently hired several physicians, including those in OB/GYN, family practice, pediatrician and emergency room departments.
"It's an amazing thing. It's amazing to be within a health system that values rural health in our rural communities. All of our hospitals are in rural Michigan. But with every change, there are difficulties at times. Overall, it was the best choice for our community to become a member hospital of MyMichigan so that we can remain here close to home," he said.
As for the negotiations, Kalchik hopes there will be an agreement soon.
"I'm passionate about our hospital. I'm proud of our hospital. I am proud of all our nurses and all of our staff that take care of our community. We want to come to a fair agreement with the nurses that we value so much," Kalchik concluded.
