Advanced practice providers at University of Michigan Health-Sparrow vote to unionize

Advanced practice providers at University of Michigan Health-Sparrow, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives, voted to form a union within the Michigan Nurses Association. 

In votes taken last Wednesday and Friday, 86% of the participants opted to establish the new bargaining unit, which will have 213 members across Sparrow locations in Lansing, Charlotte and Ionia.  

“We are all united in advocating for working conditions that support advanced practice providers and prioritize safe patient care,” Pam Stave, a physician assistant, said in a press release from the Michigan Nurses Association. “Without a union, we would have no power to stop management from freezing our pay or doing whatever else they want. Now, we get to bring our collective power to the bargaining table and really make a difference for ourselves and our patients.”

The press release added that the health care providers in the union were disappointed with the hospital management’s behavior during their attempts to unionize, stating that those involved were threatened with denied pay increases and pulled into one-on-one meetings with the seeming intention to dissuade them from voting for the union’s formation. 

“We respect the rights of our Advanced Practice Providers to bargain collectively and look forward to working with them in the future for the betterment of our patients and community,” John Foren, spokesman for the regional health system, said in a statement. 

This union is not the first at Sparrow under the Michigan Nurses Association. Jeff Breslin, president of the Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital-Michigan Nurses Association, expressed his support for the new bargaining unit in the press release. 

“We all share a common purpose, which is to provide the best care possible to our patients and our community,” Breslin said.