10,000 Corewell Health East nurses across nine Michigan hospitals vote to authorize strike
Nurses at Corewell Health East, represented by the Teamsters Local 2024 union, voted Tuesday by a nearly 90% margin to authorize the strike. The union has nearly ten thousand nurses at nine hospitals and campuses in southeast Michigan, according to the union’s press release.
“This overwhelming strike vote shows that managers are profiting off of patients, gambling with our safety and licenses, and nurses are being forced into silence,” said Rachel Szadyr, a cardiac intensive care nurse and bargaining committee member of the union. Press release.
“It’s no secret that nurses are struggling everywhere,” Szadyr continued. “We continue to lose incredible nurses to a rigged system where nonprofit hospitals put more responsibility on nurses and take away the resources we need to provide safe care. This is not sustainable, and that’s exactly why we’re fighting for the best contract possible.”
A spokesperson for Corewell Health said the results of the strike authorization vote would not change the hospital system’s approach and that they believed talk of a strike was “premature.”
“We care about our nurses and have made significant investments in wages and benefits. We are committed to reaching an agreement with the Teamsters,” the Corewell Health statement continued. “Neither party has made a final offer and we will continue to negotiate in good faith.”
Nurses at Corewell Health East have been pushing for a union contract ever since. June 2025Since a three-to-one vote to join the Teamsters in November 2024, the union’s press release stated.
Teamsters nurses in August 2025 filed An unfair labor practice charge against Corewell Health East for allegedly refusing to negotiate an agreement that would ensure that bargaining committee members would not have to use their paid leave for collective bargaining dates.
At the time, the hospital said its “policies require team members to use paid leave when they choose to be away from work, and we have no intention of deviating from our policy.”
Tom Erickson, lead negotiator and Teamsters Central District international vice president, said in the press release that this vote should signal to Corewell that the nurses are serious and are willing to strike if necessary.
