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MI nurses call on McLaren to cut executive salaries before laying off workers

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI (MPRN)--   More than 1,000 workers at downstate McLaren Health have been placed on temporary furlough due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The Michigan Nurses Association is calling on the hospital system to cut executive salaries before laying off nurses. The union says staff should be retrained to assist frontline healthcare workers before getting furloughed or laid off.

Josh Straus works at McLaren Central Michigan. He says he has been fully furloughed for two weeks.

“We were asked to take a furlough to try and help the hospital, to try and help the community hospital. And yet there is nobody above that is doing that. It looks poorly on that situation from my viewpoint.”

A spokesperson for McLaren said 750 top leaders at the company up to and including the CEO have taken pay cuts - but would not provide details on how much or what percent of salaries were cut.

The spokesperson said the company is doing what it can to avoid permanent layoffs but noted it is still early in the pandemic.