GRAND BLANC TWP, MI – The strike at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital has stretched into a fourth week with little sign of resolution, as union leaders and hospital officials remain divided over staffing ratios, premium pay and contract terms.
Teamsters Local 332, which represents the roughly 650 to 700 nurses on strike, is set to return to the bargaining table on Friday, Sept. 26, with a federal mediator.
But union president Dan Glass said he is not optimistic.
“I have no optimism that it will be anything more than Henry Ford doing the bare minimum,” Glass told MLive-The Flint Journal on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
At the heart of the dispute is how nurse-to-patient ratios are enforced and how they affect nurses’ compensation.
In a statement on Tuesday to the Journal, Henry Ford Health said the contract it has proposed maintains the same ratios as the one that expired Aug. 20, but with changes to premium pay.
The hospital declined to provide what the premium pay is for nurses.
Hospital leaders argue the premium pay clause incentivized “coordinated call-offs,” allowing nurses to call off shifts so others could receive extra pay.
A hospital payroll analysis provided by Henry Ford found Teamsters members received $1.27 million in premium pay in the first half of 2025, with some periods totaling $15,000 for individual nurses.
Henry Ford said total payroll and benefits for Teamsters cost $83.5 million annually — more than $111,000 per member — and that incentive pay for covering extra shifts added another $3.2 million in the first half of this year.
Glass rejected the hospital’s characterization.
“It’s all patently false. Henry Ford is making statements on behalf of Ascension,” he said. “Henry Ford didn’t take this over until October 2024. We ratified the one-year deal in June 2024. None of those people who were in these rooms negotiating these contracts are still with the company.”
Glass said the disputed call-off language came from Ascension, which previously operated the hospital.
“The coordinated call-offs weren’t our proposal,“ he said. ”Ascension gave us that additional language to try to get this contract passed last year. It was based on a vacancy rate set every 30 days. If a nurse was working and they didn’t have enough staff, there was an additional incentive paid. It had nothing to do with call-ins.”
Henry Ford has also pointed to absenteeism as a financial and operational strain, reporting a 22.9% increase in call-offs year over year and claiming nurses missed 5,872 scheduled shifts between Jan. 1 and Aug. 18, 2025.
Glass disputed that figure.
“That’s absolutely wrong. Their own document they gave us was 1,872 (shifts),” he said.
Beyond premium pay and staffing ratios, Glass said the hospital’s push to replace the union’s nearly 30-year-old contract with Henry Ford’s non-union policies used in Detroit is another major concern.
Henry Ford counters that the hospital is in the midst of a financial turnaround plan after average yearly losses of $50 million and says collaboration is essential.
“Keep in mind, Henry Ford Health assumed operations of the hospital in October 2024. We are forging ahead with thoughtful and strategic steps to restore the hospital’s financial stability, including operational changes and/or consolidation of services,” a Henry Ford spokesperson said. “Labor negotiations are happening amid these turnaround efforts. It’s our sincere hope that our union partners agree the hospital cannot continue to operate this way and will work with us on a long-term plan that will ensure the hospital continues serving the community.”
Amid these financial and operational changes, Henry Ford emphasized the importance of continued dialogue with the union to chart a path forward.
“While we may not agree on every detail, we believe Henry Ford Genesys Hospital and Teamsters share the same goal — keeping Genesys strong,” the spokesperson said. “We’re committed to working with our union partners to develop a long-term plan that will ensure the hospital continues serving the community. We hope to meet with Teamsters leaders later this week.”