Registered nurses at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City are speaking up and taking action against the hospital.
Tuesday, the Michigan Nurses Association filed allegations of an unfair labor practice against Munson Medical Center.
This comes after some nurses have been talking about forming a union.
9&10’s Caroline Powers and photojournalist Jeremy Erickson spoke to nurses and the hospital and has more details about the allegations.
Some registered nurses at Munson Medical Center say after they began discussing forming a union last fall they started receiving unfair treatment. Now, they’re taking legal action.
“It’s become pretty demoralizing honestly because their anti-union efforts have really divided staff,” says Shannon Gillespie, a registered nurse at Munson Medical Center.
Shannon Gillespie has worked as a registered nurse at Munson Medical Center for the last two years.
He says after discussion about forming a union started, the environment in the hospital changed.
“There’s been low key intimidation tactics,” Gillespie says. “We had a table in the lunchroom where we have been trying to gather signatures, and rarely do we see all the managers sitting in the cafeteria together, but they decided to set up a table right behind our union table.”
Behavior that ultimately led to the Michigan Nurses Association filing a complaint.
“We simply emailed and reached out to the MNA and asked them for a little help and guidance in this,” Gillespie says.
In a document obtained by 9&10 News, the union claims Munson interfered or restrained nurses from exercising their right to unionize.
They also claim the hospital interrogated pro-union employees and changed work hours in retaliation for engaging in the activity.
Munson Healthcare Assistant General Counsel Rachel Roe claims the news came as a surprise.
“We’re confident that we fully complied with the law,” Roe says.
And that Munson will continue to provide a positive environment for their patients and staff.
“If necessary, we’ll take this to a hearing so that the NLRB has all the facts and information it needs to come to that conclusion,” says Roe.
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