Governor Granholm Calls Upon NMH, Teamsters to Resume Bargaining

October 6, 2003

LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today said she has accepted the conclusions of the Blue Ribbon Panel that she appointed to investigate the nurses’ strike at Northern Michigan Hospital (NMH). She urged all of the parties involved in the hospital’s on-going labor dispute to return to the bargaining table.

"I am calling on the administration of Northern Michigan Hospital and the Teamsters Local 406 to honor the Blue Ribbon Panel's recommendations and return to the bargaining table," said Granholm. "It is clear that the strike is not only jeopardizing the quality of health care at NMH, it also calls into question the very future of the hospital and health care in Northern Michigan."

On November 14, 2002, nurses at NMH went on strike in what has become the longest nurses’ strike in the nation. With the exception of two bargaining sessions, the panel found that NMH has pursued a strategy of authorizing large additional expenditures to pay temporary nurses at premium rates, jeopardizing the hospital’s already precarious fiscal stability.

As commissioned by Granholm, the bipartisan Blue Ribbon Panel was comprised of universally- praised, fair, and unbiased professionals with decades of experience in health care and labor relations. The Panel consisted of three members: C. Patrick Babcock, Dr. Gloria Smith, and Barry C. Brown. They investigated the strike at NMH by interviewing local residents and by holding open public hearings.

Nearly 500 interviews and written statements from citizens as well as meetings with hospital administrators, physicians, and City of Petoskey government officials serve as the basis for findings and recommendations presented in the report.

"Based on what they learned, the panel drew strong negative conclusions about the hospital’s management and its almost irrational refusal to bargain with its nurses – people who are neighbors, parents, and friends. These are citizens who are tightly woven into the community’s fabric," Granholm added. "The hundreds of people affected by the hospital’s intransigent approach could permanently damage not just the hospital and its care, but the community as well. Therein lies the true tragedy. I urge the healing to begin for the sake of the patients and the community."

In addition to recommending that the parties involved in the dispute immediately return to the bargaining table, the report issued in September by the panel offered the following recommendations that the Governor supports, including:

• The Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services should examine all minutes of the NMH Infection Control Committee and all serious accident reports from the start of the dispute to the current date.
• NMH should provide a public independent audit of all costs of temporary staff hired or under contract to fill vacancies resulting from the nurses’ strike.
• If warranted, the state should not hesitate to seek a full state licensure and federal certification survey.

In Petoskey, NMH is both the largest employer and the largest health care provider.