One hundred nurses at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., part of Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health, have begun efforts to unionize, according to Crain's Detroit Business.
The nurses, who seek to join the Michigan Nurses Association, said in a statement that the effort is partially driven by their desire for improved staffing levels and "better opportunities to provide quality care."
"We want a union so we can fight for safe staffing levels. We want a union so that we can together advocate for the wages and benefits necessary to recruit and retain quality RNs. Most of all, we want a union so that we can have a meaningful collective voice in the decision-making process at our hospital," the statement reads.
Susan Grant, RN, Beaumont Health's executive vice president and CNO, told Crain's she respects nurses' right to try to unionize, but the group's views do not represent all of the approximately 3,000 nurses at Beaumont Royal Oak.
"I don't think the concerns raised [by the group of nurses] are represented by a majority of nurses," she said.
"We just had a staffing survey that found 80 percent of our nurses are engaged," and feel positive about where they work, said Ms. Grant.
A unionization vote has not been scheduled.
Access the full Crain's story here.
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