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MARQUETTE -- UP Health System-Marquette nurses voted Tuesday to authorize their locally elected bargaining team to call a strike.
"Striking is not a decision that nurses consider lightly. As dedicated professionals, however, we cannot stand by in good conscience and allow these dangerous conditions to persist," said Scott Balko, registered nurse and president of the local chapter of the Michigan Nurses Association.
If for-profit hospital Duke LifePoint continues to neglect the documented safety concerns and other staffing issues, nurses at the hospital now have the option of striking, according to a press release from the MNA.
The authorization for a strike derives from Duke LifePoint's failure to address a report documenting 780 patient care consequences due to inadequate or unsafe assignments, according to the association.
On Thursday UPHS-Marquette nurses asked personnel at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' Marquette office to investigate findings of the report. The nurses were told to take the matter to the state of Michigan.
"A strike can still be avoided if our patient safety concerns are addressed," Balko said. "We call on Duke LifePoint to honor their commitment to our community and our patients. That means agreeing to a contract that guarantees safe staffing levels and a workplace that will attract and retain high quality nurses in the years to come."
By law, nurses are required to give the hospital 10 days notice in advance before any planned striking is carried out.
Nurses have been in contract negotiations with Duke LifePoint since April 18. The two-month contract extension lapsed in June after management failed to address staffing and safety concerns. Nurses are currently working without a contract and continue to bargain with hospital administration.
"We presently are scheduled to negotiate with the MNA through the end of September, and we remain optimistic that those negotiations will eventually conclude with a collective bargaining agreement that meets the needs of all parties," Victor Harrington, regional marketing director of UP Health System, said in an email.
"The Michigan Nurses Association reportedly worked very hard to convince an undisclosed number of UP Health System-Marquette employees to vote in the affirmative in (Tuesday's) strike authorization vote," Harrington said. "Notwithstanding the reported result of that vote, we are encouraged by the many employees who have expressed their opposition to this tactic by the MNA, and who are dismayed by the union's recent public attacks that portray their hospital in such an inaccurate, inflammatory and damaging light."
According to Harrington, the hospital continues to state its first priority is the delivery of high-quality, compassionate care to the patients it serves.
Jaymie Depew can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206.