ProMedica, nurses union at Hickman Hospital reach tentative agreement
ADRIAN TWP. — ProMedica and the nurses' union at Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract.
The agreement was reached late Wednesday evening, a day after nurses staged a “practice strike,” the Michigan Nurses Association said in a news release.
“ProMedica Hickman Hospital leaders have continued bargaining discussions with the Michigan Nurses Association this week, and we are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement,” ProMedica said in an emailed statement.
The three-year contract becomes final if ratified by the MNA membership. A ratification vote is scheduled for Feb. 7, the MNA said.
After the practice strike, the MNA said, the hospital’s administration conceded its demand to establish a two-tier retirement system. Also, nurses won improved wages so that the new wage scale would reach over $50 per hour by the end of the contract.
“MNA nurses have sent a clear and unmistakable message to ProMedica executives: we are union strong, and we are unafraid to advocate for what is right,” Tracy Webb, a critical care nurse and president of the Michigan Nurses Association local at Hickman Hospital, said in MNA's news release. “As nurses, we were fighting for the future of our community. We feel that the gains in this agreement will help us recruit and retain RNs so we can keep our patients safe every shift.”
Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news, and high school and college sports content.
Nurses had previously authorized their bargaining team to be able to call for a strike with a 98% “yes” vote. On Tuesday, more than 60 off-duty registered nurses and their supporters picketed across M-52 from the hospital as those on shift wore red inside the hospital, the MNA said. Nurses had described the practice strike as their final warning to ProMedica ahead of a possible strike.
“If you are a nurse at a different hospital reading this, my message to you is simple. You have more strength when you are united as a union than you ever could if you are divided and alone,” said Webb. “Never let anyone tell you that you don’t have power when you act together in solidarity. You have more strength than you could ever know.”
— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: ProMedica, nurses union at Hickman Hospital reach tentative agreement
