Nurses represented by the University of Michigan Professional Nurses Council (UMPNC) have ratified a three-year contact with Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan.

The competitive employment agreement provides a commitment to patient safety and high-quality care, according to leaders from Michigan Medicine and the UMPNC, which represents the 5,700 registered nurses at University of Michigan hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities.

“This ratification is good news for the entire Michigan Medicine community: our nurses, our patients and all of our staff. We are grateful to all who worked tirelessly to bargain a fair agreement,” said David Spahlinger, M.D., president of the University of Michigan Health System and executive vice dean for clinical affairs of the U-M Medical School. 

“Our top priority is to ensure our patients receive the highest quality of care. Our nurses are critical to that goal, and this contract reflects our interest in moving forward together. We believe this agreement will help us retain and recruit excellent nurses.”

The contract includes guidelines for staffing that continue Michigan Medicine’s commitment to excellent patient care, while allowing for flexibility to meet patient needs.

In August, Michigan Medicine was ranked #5 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. These Honor Roll rankings are achieved, in part, by excellent nurse to patient ratios. Michigan Medicine’s ratios are in the top 2 percent of all hospitals in the country.

The contract includes salary raises of 3 to 4 percent, representing an increase from the past four years when those increases were about 1 percent.

The contract also includes: 

•Increased funding for tuition reimbursement and professional development that will ensure maintenance of nursing Magnet status, the highest honor in nursing granted to about 6 percent of U.S. hospitals.

•Maintenance of current health insurance and retirement benefits

•Changes to eliminate payroll system inaccuracies

•Reductions in mandatory overtime

•Paid maternal/parental leave program that includes six weeks of paid leave for physiological recovery from birth of a child and six weeks of paid parental leave to employees after a birth, adoption or foster care and guardianship, which matches benefits recently granted to non-union University employees

Michigan Medicine will continue to work with the UMPNC in implementing the new contract.

“Over the months of bargaining, we stressed our support and respect for nurses and worked to resolve workplace issues that needed improvement,” Spahlinger said. 

“This is a significant milestone, and we look forward to working with our nurses as we continue our efforts to bring the best healthcare possible to our patients and communities across the state.”

More information can be found at www.uofmhealth.org/nursing-negotiations

About Michigan Medicine: At Michigan Medicine, we create the future of healthcare through the discovery of new knowledge for the benefit of patients and society; educate the next generation of physicians, health professionals and scientists; and serve the health needs of our citizens. We pursue excellence every day in our three hospitals, 125 clinics and home care operations that handle more than 2.3 million outpatient visits a year.

Michigan Medicine includes the top ranked U-M Medical School and the University of Michigan Health System, which includes the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, University Hospital, the Frankel Cardiovascular Center and the Rogel Cancer Center. The U-M Medical School is one of the nation's biomedical research powerhouses, with total research funding of more than $470 million.