Hundreds of University of Michigan nurses and community supporters protested in Ann Arbor over the weekend as contract talks remain at a standstill.

Nurses said they are fighting proposed staffing changes which could increase patient loads in some units, along with concerns over workplace protections for all nursing staff.

The group marched around the hospital campus in what organizers described as an informational picket, not a work stoppage.

Kara Ayotte, president of the University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council, said the union is concerned about how proposed staffing changes could affect nurses and patients.

“As we increase nursing workload and add more patients to your patient assignment, it becomes harder to provide that high-quality complex care that Michigan Medicine is known for and that our members provide that make Michigan Medicine a destination hospital,” Ayotte emphasized.

In a statement, University of Michigan Health said it remains committed to productive negotiations and reaching an agreement to support the more than 7,500 nurses covered under the contract, along with patient care.

The union has also filed unfair labor practice charges against the university, alleging labor law violations tied to advanced practice registered nurses, including nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives.

Ayotte pointed out the university wants to remove those nurses from the bargaining unit.

“That's one-sixth of our membership,” she explained. “It's over 1,000 of our members, and we want them to be treated just like the rest of us because a cut to one of us is a cut to all of us.”

Ayotte noted the union accuses the university of installing AI-driven workplace monitoring sensors without bargaining first.

Nurses have been negotiating since October and their contract expired at the end of March.

Source: Public News Service