Trinity Health Muskegon, nurses union agree to new contract deal

Trinity Health Muskegon, nurses union agree to new contract deal
Trinity Health Muskegon’s hospital on Sherman Boulevard.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated with additional information on the new contract.

The union representing registered nurses at Trinity Health Muskegon has agreed to terms on a new contract with the health system that will pay them higher wages as well as retention and other one-time bonuses.

SEIU Healthcare Michigan said the contract includes lump-sum bonuses for RNs of $7,000, and up to $11,000 for most nurses, plus a retention bonus of up to $10,000. As well, the contract increases pay for Trinity Health Muskegon’s RNs by 20 percent over four years.

“This contract will provide relief to the staffing crisis and rebuild the foundation of Mercy as a respected community hospital that provides the highest quality care for its patients. We have sacrificed and put our lives on the line during this global pandemic — we demand to be respected, protected, and paid,” Laura Krzykwa, a registered nurse and SEIU Bargaining Team Leader at Trinity Health Muskegon, said in a statement. “Ultimately, this is about providing the best care for our patients and we can only do that when the hospital is adequately staffed. Now we will stand in solidarity with our union techs and support workers who continue to fight for their contract.”

Trinity Health Muskegon, formerly known as Mercy Health Muskegon, earlier on Thursday said the new four-year agreement with SEIU Healthcare Michigan took effect immediately following a ratification vote to approve the deal.

The health system did not disclose terms of the agreement, other than to say that the deal “addresses nurse compensation” and that the “adjustments will increase nurse retention and support the recruitment of new nursing colleagues to the hospital.”

“This is an important step forward for the future of our hospital and the health care heroes who keep it running every single day,” Trinity Health Muskegon President Gary Allore said in the statement. “This result could not have been achieved without the hard work, time, energy and commitment from both parties. I am very pleased with this outcome, and I am grateful for everyone who had a helping hand in reaching this agreement.”

SEIU Healthcare Michigan for years represented nurses at the Sherman Boulevard hospital campus, and the Michigan Nurses Association represented nurses at the Hackley Campus. As Trinity Health Muskegon consolidated much of its care at the Sherman Boulevard facility and a new patient tower, RNs voted 373 to 333 in July 2020 for SEIU to have sole representation. The union presently represents 651 RNs in the bargaining unit, according to Trinity Health Muskegon.

Part of the Service Employees International Union, SEIU Healthcare Michigan represents more than 17,000 nurses and caregivers at hospitals, nursing homes and clinics throughout the state.

In late April, the Service Employees International Union appointed an emergency trustee and deputy trustee to oversee operations of SEIU Healthcare Michigan. The international union based the move on “substantial allegations of serious financial malpractice and a lack of basic internal financial controls and accounting practice in the Local, a breakdown of democratic procedures in the Local, and the inability of the Local’s top elected leaders to work collaboratively to remedy these serious problems and to carry out their constitutional obligations to manage and oversee the Local’s work for the good of the Local and HCMI’s members.”

In an April 29 message to members, Trustee Dian Palmer wrote that negotiations at the then-Mercy Health with technicians, service and support staff were continuing. The union also represents more than 1,000 technical and service workers in Muskegon, including ER techs, certified nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, lab techs, dietary workers, and environmental services workers.