ROCHESTER (WWJ) -- While the UAW and Big 3 contract talks continue, workers at Ascension Providence Hospital in Oakland County have gone on strike.
Members of the union representing nurses and radiology technologists at the hospital in Rochester are currently in day one of the three-day strike, which started on Monday morning.
The OPEIU Local 40 union says it has not been able to reach an agreement on a new contract since negotiations started in 2022, and voted to authorize the strike on Thursday.
A total of 16 unfair labor practices have been filed by the Local 40 union against Ascension Providence, with major sticking points including compensation and staffing levels.
Cassandra Bell, a Registered Nurse at Ascension Providence and Vice President of Local 40, tells WWJ’s Charlie Langton that one of the biggest issues continues to be an unbalanced nurse-to-patient ratio.
“The nurse/patient ratio is just ridiculous right now,” Bell said. “In some instances, we have a 1:9, 1:8 ratio. In ICUs, it’s terrible. It should be a 1:1 [or] 1:2.”
The union also alleges that nurses and radiology techs have been locked out of the hospital during the strike, while Ascension plans to bring in replacement workers at a rate of $7,100 a week.
A request for comment by WWJ to Ascension Providence has not yet been answered.