The ballots have been counted, and the result is clear: The strike authorization vote has PASSED by an overwhelming margin. 98.7% of members voting said “yes” to giving the PECSH-MNA bargaining team the ability to call a strike if needed.
Member turnout was exceptional - the highest of any PECSH-MNA in-person vote on record!
This bold action by union members shows the employer that we are sick of their disrespect and their inadequate offer. It puts our unity, solidarity and strength on full display.
We did bargain with the employer yesterday, and we’ve provided an update below.
As far as what’s next, we go back to the table tomorrow with a powerful new tool — our overwhelming strike authorization vote — in hand.
Remember, if a strike is called, we will give the hospital 10-day notice so it can prepare.
We all hope a strike will not be necessary. But that’s up to UMH-Sparrow - the ball’s in their court.
Update from yesterday’s bargaining
Unlike last week, the employer’s team was prepared to meet and did respond to our last proposal. Our ongoing strike vote clearly moved them, but unfortunately their proposal was far from acceptable.
Health Insurance
The employer rejected our proposal to make the BCBS plan (the only plan we know will be in our contract in 2026) premium more affordable. They also rejected our proposed increase to the opt-out payment and the language we had proposed to lengthen next fall’s open enrollment period.
The employer did make some important movement towards our proposal that new insurance plans could only be added during our contract by mutual agreement, but would not agree that that the union could make proposals for new plans during the contract. The employer did withdraw its proposal to end our discounts on Sparrow hospital and home health services.
The employer would not clarify what type of plan it would offer, giving the impression that their proposal would leave us with the option of an increasingly expensive BCBS plan and a mid-contract proposal of a high-deductible non-union plan that we could accept or reject. Either way the proposal did not create a pathway to guaranteed affordable insurance in our next contract.
Wages
The employer rejected our wage proposal and made a counter proposal. Their team proposed additional raises from its prior proposal for bedside RN’s; however, the raises did not cover cost of living increases or make us competitive even with other local hospitals. Additionally, the employer made absolutely no movement on wages for the nearly 60 other classifications in our union from its last proposal.
Subcontracting
The employer did not accept our subcontracting language and made no counter proposal.
Security
The employer did not substantively respond to our proposals on security.
Commentaires