OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – Hundreds of workers at Henry Ford Rochester Hospital are on strike Monday morning.
Nearly 400 OPEIU Local 40 nurses went on strike at 7 a.m. on June 9 over unfair labor practices. The strike is expected to last for three days.
According to the union, nurses want to earn more money and have a better number of nurses for each patient to keep everyone safe.
The union said Henry Ford has been putting its own needs before the safety of its patients. On the other side, Henry Ford said it decides how many workers to have based on how many patients, and having a ratio of nurses to patients makes it harder for them to adapt to different patient conditions.
According to the union, this is the second strike in less than two years at the former community hospital and reportedly the first strike against Henry Ford in its 110-year history.
“Instead of bargaining in good faith to reach an agreement and keep our nurses at work, Henry Ford has once again chosen its own best interests over patient safety by illegally locking our nurses out, this time for 5 days.”
Rochester RN and Vice President Danielle Drouillard
“We staff our hospitals based on patient volumes and other factors. Mandated staffing ratios hinder our ability to adapt to varying patient conditions.
We are giving every Henry Ford Rochester nurse the option to work during the strike and receive their full pay. We are not ‘locking out’ striking nurses. "
Henry Ford Rochester Hospital