Aspirus Ironwood

IRONWOOD – Nurses at Aspirus Ironwood Hospital voted unanimously on Nov. 5 to authorize a strike in pursuit of a fair contract and in protest of the employer’s unfair labor practices, says a Nov. 6 release from the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA). “We remain ready and willing to bargain in good faith to reach a new contract with Aspirus,” said Sarah Trudgeon, RN and president of the local Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) union at the hospital. “Our goal has always been simply to reach an agreement that supports Ironwood nurses so we can recruit and retain the skilled nurses our community needs. Our concern is not only about this contract, but really also about the future of healthcare in our region.”

The vote means that the elected RN bargaining team at the hospital can call for a strike if deemed necessary, the release says. It does not mean that the nurses will strike for sure, and they would give the hospital 10 days’ notice if that does happen. The most recent bargaining session, on Oct. 29, failed to produce an agreement, the release says. No further bargaining dates are set at this time, but the nurses remain ready and willing to continue contract discussions. According to MNA, the nurses voted unanimously on Oct. 15 to reject Aspirus’s contract proposal because it eliminates the wage structure that rewards nurses’ experience; provides lower wages than the MNA proposal for nearly half the nurses; and fails to meaningfully address the impending closure of the OB unit and the nurses’ proposal regarding it.

Natalie Seaber, Aspirus Michigan Region president, said from a money aspect, which she said is a small part of the contract negotiations, Aspirus’ offer is actually higher than what MNA is asking. “Right now, what we’re working through is something called step compensation,” Seaber said.

A step compensation plan is a pay structure where employees progress through a series of fixed salary levels, or “steps,” within their job classification. Employees typically start at the lowest step and advance to higher steps based on time in the job, performance, skills, or a combination of factors. Each step represents a specific salary increase, providing a clear, predictable path for pay progression and rewarding experience and longevity

“We want to go to a non-step where we give the large amount up front,” Seaber said, “because what we want to make sure is we are paying what is competitive. And that changes year over year.”

Seaber said that with the step plan, Aspirus is not competitive in its compensation to effectively recruit nurses.

“So if they’re locked in, what they had asked for is second year, I think it was 2% increase,” said Seaber. “Well, we might provide an average of 3% every year. So the nurse then is behind by 1% in year 2. And then they’re down another percent by year 3.”

The Aspirus Ironwood Hospital nurses have been negotiating with Aspirus for a new contract since May 6. Their current contract expired Aug. 2.

Seaber said the nurses are then tied into what Aspirus does for annual merits every year, which on average is 3%. That, she said, is higher than union is requesting.

Seaber said she would like to see both parties continue to work together and “hearing each other working together to come up with a good collaborative strong agreement, that’s what’s important.”