On Sept. 1, 2025, about 750 Teamster-represented nurses and case workers went on strike against Henry Ford Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
Seven months later, the conflict shows no signs of resolving, and recently, International Union President Sean O’Brien put in face time on the picket lines for Teamsters Local 332. In doing so, O’Brien called on the NLRB to intervene in several ULP charges filed by the union against the hospital system, mainly alleging refusal to bargain.
As of this writing, 220 days have passed since the strike began, and it’s worth looking at union claims vs. reality:
Union-orchestrated absenteeism exacerbated staffing issues:
The Teamsters claimed that the hospital is intentionally running inadequate nurse-to-patient ratios, and Henry Ford countered that it has stayed fully staffed during the strike and beforehand, too.
Well, scratch that: The hospital planned for full staffing levels, but the union thwarted them.
Henry Ford Genesys revealed that the union manipulated a contract clause that “incentivize[d] coordinated call-outs” by boosting pay for nurses who come to work during heightened absenteeism. The effects sound drastic.
The Teamsters directed members to “take turns calling off scheduled shifts,” and this led to members calling out of work “5,872 times between January and August 2025, averaging 25 absences per day at Genesys compared to just 4 at Henry Ford Rochester and 11 at West Bloomfield."
For this hospital system, 25 nurse call-outs per day is “the equivalent of an entire unit of staff,” and since the strike began, “[W]e've been experiencing fewer call-offs, which has allowed us to consistently maintain our ideal nurse-to-patient ratios.”
The union wants Henry Ford to oust permanent nurses, not just temps:
On the picket line, Sean O’Brien groused, “Management needs to prioritize the experience of Teamsters nurses over temporary workers.”
Henry Ford countered with common sense: They must fill staffing gaps to provide patient care. Further, “Temporary workers are just that, temporary. If Teamsters chose to end their strike, contract nurses would no longer be required to care for the community, and most nurses would return to the positions they held before the strike.”
As well, the hospital system revealed that the union is demanding the bumping of 200 “permanent employees, not temps, with federally protected rights” as part of a return-to-work agreement for striking nurses. According to Henry Ford Genesys, some of these workers are “Teamsters members who continued to work during the strike.”
The hospital’s offered wages exceed market rate:
Henry Ford Genesys’ latest offer, which it’s already partially implemented for salary purposes, increased RN wages by up to 13%. That brings the system’s average annual RN salaries to around $100,000. According to Michigan’s University of Olivet, state salaries for RNs with 5+ years of experience fall within the “$85,000 – $95,000” range.
Henry Ford is exceeding the Michigan state average for nurse pay, and the hospital system further reveals that they agreed to maintain staffing ratios from the expired Teamsters contract. Additionally, the hospital system’s latest proposed offer included premium rates for overnight, holiday, weekend, and critical shifts. Yet the Teamsters aren’t budging, although precisely what salaries they are demanding remains secret.
The union’s motives extend far beyond Genesys:
The Teamsters are one of the hardest-poaching unions in existence.
Beyond freight, logistics, hospitality, Hollywood, this union is intent upon mass-organizing Michigan nurses. In March, Teamsters Local 332 President Kevin Moore boasted, “You think we’re just done with Henry Ford? ... You think there’s not more hospitals in the State of Michigan that want Teamster help? We’re not backing up from any hospital.”
As Henry Ford Genesys points out, keeping their nurses off the job is a means to “advance the union’s broader agenda.” And make no mistake, a prolonged, high-profile strike at a major health system gives the Teamsters what they want for future campaigns: “Proof” of muscle, media attention, and a pre-packaged rallying cry to motivate nursing conflicts elsewhere.
Plain and simple, this strike is mainly a PR move. If the Teamsters really cared about nurses, they wouldn’t have orchestrated widespread absenteeism that created short-staffing conditions at Henry Ford Genesys. That’s a dangerous tactic and self-serving for the union, and it’s not good for workers, patients, or the community served.
