As of March 10, Munson Medical Center nurses are working without a contract.

The Traverse City Munson Nurses Association (TCMNA) is seeking a pay increase, benefits protection, and more input when it comes to staffing. The union also wants to ensure nurses are not undermined by artificial intelligence.

The three-year contract is being negotiated between union and hospital officials, though both sides say it is not uncommon for a contract to expire.

TCMNA represents about 850 nurses.

“Staffing is the biggest sticking point,” TCMNA President Laura Nilsson notes. “We've made a little bit of progress on some of those technology issues, but the staffing is really the big part.”

“The patient population is just sicker,” Nilsson says. “We're seeing higher volumes, and yet we still have fewer staff to take care of them, so we're really concerned that can lead to some unsafe situations. I think we provide excellent, safe care, but it comes at this really huge cost to our nurses, where they are going into work and feeling like they're just struggling.”

When a contract expires, the wage scale and differentials remain intact, as well as scheduling, seniority, holidays, health benefits, and working conditions. The hospital can continue to make decisions about hiring, discipline, termination, and layoffs. 

The union’s no strike and picketing clause also expired with the old contract, leaving nurses a no-work option in the event that an agreement is not reached in a timely manner.

“I think that's something certainly that we always want to be thinking of and be prepared for,” says Munson Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Standfest, who communicates with stakeholders about contract developments, but does not participate in the bargaining sessions. “But we’re trying to focus on making sure that we’re listening to the team, that we're working together to focus on the topics that we have, and we work towards that compromise and get that contract in place so that we don't have that impact for our community.”

As a last resort, a federal mediator can be brought in to assist if negotiations are at a stalemate.

“Over those three years after the contract has been finalized, I don't think any of us stop working on it,” says the TCMNA president. 

One of the first bargaining talks was held in November. Throughout December, bi-weekly meetings were held. In January, meetings continued on a weekly basis. The most recent bargaining meeting was held Wednesday, but still no agreement was reached.

“We obviously exchange proposals and try to find common ground of where we think things make sense in order to be able to get to a place that we can be competitive in the market and we can offer the right pay, the right benefits, and then also continue to make sure that we have the staff to support the patient, both the volume and the specific clinical needs in all of our clinical areas,” Standfest says. “A lot of times it is staffing, wages, and benefits. Obviously it is really important to our team as well, and it's important to us because it's an important aspect of our work in terms of retaining our team and helping them feel rewarded for the work that they do.”

Nilsson says increased salaries are another priority for TCMNA.

“We want our pay to at least keep up with inflation and to keep our jobs competitive, we know that nurses are not staying in the area because they're able to go to other locations and make more money,” Nilsson says.

Munson’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Megan Brown says the hospital doesn’t disclose specific data on wages.

“We’ve reviewed national, state, and local data and have steadily and intentionally increased the total amount invested in the wages and benefits for nurses and other employees over the past three years,” Brown says.

Three years ago, AI wasn’t much of a concern, but it is now.

“We're really concerned about technology and AI and nursing,” says Nilsson. “We're not necessarily opposed to it in any form, but again, we really want nursing to have a voice there. Some of these technologies are designed to kind of reduce our nursing judgment. So anytime that is a potential, we want to be able to say that nursing judgment should always have a place there, as opposed to just relying on a potentially untested or less trustworthy machine to be making some decisions.”

TCMNA is planning a town hall meeting on March 26 at the Delamar Traverse City in hopes of engaging and informing the community about the challenges they face on the job.

Munson officials are optimistic an agreement will be reached soon. They point to a recent contract renewal at its Manistee hospital as a “big win.”

During the last few months, Standfest has conducted “shadow shifts” alongside bedside nurses to get a better understanding of what nurses experience while on the job.

“I'll tell you, we have an amazing team, and they just do a fantastic job engaging with our patients and delivering care,” she says. “I don't want people to have uncertainty. I want people to know we're working together to get to a good, fair contract for our team and that we're listening.”