LANSING, Mich. — Some health care professionals say staffing conditions are putting both medical professionals and patients in danger. They also say that their pay is too low and contract talks aren't going well.
Now, hundreds of McLaren union employees are taking their concerns to the streets to let the community know what's going on inside the walls of the health system.
Since this summer, members of the Michigan Nurses Association and the Office and Professional Employees International Union have been trying to hash out a new contract for employees at McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital and McLaren Homecare and Hospice.
The three-year contract expired at the end of September, and now, union members have been working nearly a full week without a deal.
"Well we're here to work on things like safe staffing for every patient, every unit, every day. Especially since McLaren just spent $460 million on a new facility and the CEO makes millions," said Krystal Mannor of OPEIU and McLaren.
Today, hundreds of workers and their supporters took over Forest Street and held what leaders call an "informational picket" to tell the community contract negotiations aren't going well.
Nancy Harns has been with McLaren for 28 years, and as far as she's concerned, her pay isn't where it should be. It's an issue for many of her colleagues.
"They are discounting our worthiness. They aren't respecting us. We're continuously on-call working extra hours and seeing more patients than we should," said Harns.
FOX 47 News asked McLaren officials for comment on today's protest.
In an emailed statement from the company's president and CEO, Kirk Ray, he says he is not surprised the union would hold a picket.
"It is unfortunate they have chosen this unoriginal and commonplace tactic routinely deployed by unions throughout the nation, considering today’s enormously challenging health care environment and, especially, since representatives from the hospital and union have negotiated in good faith for several weeks and have made measurable progress toward a new, long-term contract," the statement said.
The unions represent about 300 health care professionals who work for these McLaren facilities.
Both sides are slated to meet back at the bargaining table in the coming weeks.
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