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Hospital Campaign

After more than a year of working in pandemic conditions, hospital workers across Michigan are calling for the changes we need to keep going and feel respected, protected, and supported.

From nurses and techs, to cleaners and more, we are essential to keeping our hospitals running and ready to care for our communities.  

We have persevered through mental and physical exhaustion, stress, and trauma, but the toll of this year has pushed many of us to the limit. Many of us  had to use up all of our paid time off because we were sick or we needed to quarantine. Many of us routinely work extra shifts because of staffing shortages. We’ve risked our health and safety without proper protection, support or transparent communication.

Now, we’re calling on our employers to recognize and respect the sacrifices we’ve made by fixing broken policies and providing the support and staffing we need to ensure quality care. 

We’ve gone above and beyond to take care of our patients and our communities—it’s time for our employers to help us recover and take care of ourselves, so we can keep taking care of others.

  • Hospital workers need time to recover. Many hospital workers who were infected or needed to quarantine used up all of our paid time off. And many of us are dealing with trauma and at risk of burn-out. We're asking for hospitals to fully replenish and expand our paid time off to give us time with family to heal and recover.
  • Hospital workers want our employers to value our work. We often feel like we have no choice but to take on extra shifts when the hospital is short on staff. Our employers need to do more to value the sacrifices we make to keep the hospital going. Improve extra shift pay to recognize workers who give up time with our families. Improve base pay to help our hospital recruit and retain more staff and stop chronic shortages.
  • Hospital workers want real input on how to respond to a future health crisis. PPE shortages, unpaid quarantine days, and staffing shortages during COVID-19 made it even harder for frontline hospital workers to do our jobs safely. We put our lives on the line. But we didn’t have a voice about decisions that impacted our patients, our families, and our co-workers. We want a seat at the table to make sure we put patient and worker safety first in the next crisis.

How do SEIU Members advocate for safe hospitals?

  • Negotiating specific provisions in our union contracts around hazard pay and improved base pay, fair paid time off and sick leave, PPE, safe staffing, supplies, and training.
  • Having union members, who are paid for their time, sit on labor-management committees so we’re included in decisions about working conditions and patient care.
  • A fair grievance procedure guaranteed by contract to solve problems on the job, with a neutral arbitrator to make final decisions. Speaking directly to our elected representatives, with SEIU staff support, at the local, state and national level.

SEIU Victories in Hospitals