Michigan healthcare workers strike over violence and secure union contract

Registered nurses at Corewell Health East in Michigan have ratified their first collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 2024. The three-year contract covers more than 10,000 nurses across nine hospitals and numerous outpatient clinics. Key provisions include a 15 percent wage increase over the life of the agreement, a lump-sum payment for previously withheld wages, and the establishment of a safe staffing committee to address nurse-to-patient ratios.

Separately, healthcare workers in Michigan and several other states, including Louisiana, New York, and Pennsylvania, have engaged in strikes driven by concerns over staffing shortages and rising workplace violence. At Henry Ford Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, Michigan, employees have been on strike since September 2025. Workers report frequent physical altercations, including being pushed, shoved, or bitten.

While Henry Ford Health characterized the ongoing action as an “economic strike,” the organization acknowledged that violence against healthcare staff is a “national epidemic.” Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that hospital workers are seven times more likely to be injured by violent acts on the job than the general working population.