UPDATE, 12/5/24: The rally has been canceled for safety reasons due to inclement weather.
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MARQUETTE, MI— Registered nurses and technologists at UPHS-Marquette are holding a rally to show solidarity as they prepare to enter contract negotiations.
The two unions are part of the Michigan Nurses Association and represent about 600 employees, combined.
The Marquette Ancillary Staff and Technologists—or MAST—claim Lifepoint recently violated their contract by implementing health insurance that costs employees more and offers less coverage without proper notice, just before the open enrollment period. They believe had they had the chance to discuss the new plan, changes could have been made to improve coverage.
MAST members believe that had there been the required opportunity to discuss the new plan, changes could have been made to improve the coverage. For example, the new plan covers only two full-time dentists in Marquette County.
“It’s appalling that a multibillion-dollar company is trying to gut its employees’ health care – especially for those of us in that very field,” said Josh Bowman, MLS (ASCP), a medical laboratory scientist at the hospital, president of MAST and an MNA board member. “By violating our contract and forcing this plan on us, Lifepoint executives in Tennessee have shown how little they respect the people who work at our hospital. We are sending a strong message that we won’t stand for this kind of treatment and we won’t accept any contract concessions.”
MAST has filed a union grievance against Lifepoint asking for the current plan to be reinstated. Lifepoint also tried to impose a similar plan on the members of the RN Staff Council at UPHS-Marquette, but ultimately agreed to keep the same plan for now.
“We are united with the techs in putting Lifepoint on notice that our unions will not stand for cuts in our health care and we will not accept other cuts in contract negotiations either,” said Christina Hanson, RN, president of the RN Staff Council. “We are proud to provide care for our communities, and at the same time we need good, affordable health care for ourselves and our families in order to do our jobs. If Lifepoint’s actions so far are a sign of things to come in contract negotiations, they better realize that we will not be the pushovers they apparently hope for.”
Contract negotiations typically start months before expiration. MAST’s contract expires on Sept. 8, 2025; the nurses’ contract expires May 31, 2025.
UPHS-Marquette provided the following statement to Public Radio 90:
UP Health System – Marquette takes very seriously our commitment to delivering high-quality, safe and compassionate care close to home, and we strive daily to create excellent workplaces for our employees.
Our parent company recently launched new employee benefit plans across the organization and inadvertently failed to provide advanced notice to the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) about these changes. We are working with Lifepoint and the MNA to find a solution that ensures consistency and compliance with our agreements and put safeguards in place to prevent this issue from happening again.
The employees represented by the MNA are critical members of our team, and we have apologized sincerely for this unintentional oversight. We support and respect their right to assemble and speak freely to the community they serve.
The rally will be held Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Marquette's Harlow Park.
