Much has rightfully been made about low private-sector union density, so it makes sense that unions are desperate to build up membership and keep dues money flowing. Hence why the United Auto Workers have gone in hard on higher-ed workers and why Machinists are poaching pharmacists.
However, the Teamsters might be the most aggressive poachers of the bunch. The deep-pocketed union has traditionally been known for its transportation, freight, and logistics organizing, but regularly branches out into hospitality, Hollywood, and healthcare.
The Teamsters now want to mass-organize Michigan nurses, despite the existence of multiple established nursing unions within the state, including the National Nurses United-affiliated Michigan Nurses Association. So, is this a case of smoke and mirrors, like the Teamsters declaring that they have “embarked on an ambitious campaign to organize workers in the tech industry,” when those workers were transport drivers on tech campuses?
Not quite. In fact, the Teamsters are doing their best to dirty up healthcare. Most recently, the union showcased a few wins in Michigan and took blustery aim at Henry Ford Health Genesys Hospital:
Emotional Manipulation
Since early September, 600 Teamster nurses have been on strike over contract negotiations. The union has also been crafting fiction about why the hospital “turned away striking nurses” after a mass shooting.
Henry Ford set the record straight on how they arranged adequate staffing for this indefinite strike, so they were prepared when tragedy struck. Also, legal and ethical requirements require that when medical workers strike, their system credentials are suspended to protect patient privacy under HIPAA and guard against potential security breaches.
Clearly, the Teamsters are attempting to manipulate public opinion at Henry Ford, where hospital officials asked that union officials cease “us[ing] the tragedy that occurred in our community as a bargaining tool.”
Dangerous Union-Orchestrated Absenteeism
Henry Ford also published a statement about how the Teamsters have conducted around 60 negotiation sessions, demanding a premium-pay rate policy that “incentivizes coordinated call-outs” by boosting pay for nurses who come to work during heightened absenteeism.
The hospital system further alleged that, prior to the current strike, the Teamsters were guiding members to “take turns calling off scheduled shifts,” which “helped to put Genesys Hospital in danger of closing,” resulting in a reported $54 million loss in 2024. As Henry Ford representatives concluded, “If the union truly cared for patients, they would… help ensure the hospital remains open.”
In a separate statement, Henry Ford representatives pointed to their most current contract offer, which includes wages competitive with those of other Michigan hospitals. That is, around 60% RNs at Genesys will exceed $100,000 in base pay, without inclusion of a premium-pay policy that can jeopardize patient safety by encouraging absenteeism.
Conclusion
With their relatively new focus on nursing, the Teamsters are applying a one-size-fits-all, confrontational approach to healthcare systems, and this could be disastrous for patient care. Additionally, it’s hard to imagine that the Teamsters have the expertise to understand nurses' specialized workplace concerns or the nuances of running hospital systems.
The union’s lack of healthcare knowledge is already on display in its tactics against Henry Ford Genesys Hospital, seemingly without regard for the effects on care. It’s another case of unions making promises they can’t keep, only with higher stakes that will likely backfire on the union, before they harm the patients and workers they claim to represent.
