Nurses rally in support of unionization at Harper-Hutzel

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/UPDATE/710040494/1361

Sofia Kosmetatos / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Nurses from across the state rallied at the Detroit Medical Center today to voice their support for a unionization effort.

The noon rally came three days after the Michigan Nurses Association filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize nearly 800 nurses at Harper University and Hutzel Women's hospitals. The Lansing-based association is the state's largest nurses union.

The effort to unionize the Harper and Hutzel nurses started earlier this year. The nurses want lower nurse-to-patient ratios and improved working conditions.

More than one hundred nurses marched from the corner of Canfield and John R to the front of Harper University Hospital, chanting their support for safe patient care and cheering at passing motorists who tooted their car horns in support.

Most nurses were from out of town, attending the MNA's annual convention in Dearborn. But about a couple of dozen were DMC employees, according to marchers.

Tom Yaksich, a nurse at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, was one of the few men in the crowd. A nurse for 27 years, he said he remembers when nurses unionized at Sparrow 20 years ago. Relations were strained between nurses and management initially, but the end result was worth it.

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