Facts About the Strike at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital

(Grand Blanc, Mich.) --Henry Ford Genesys Hospital remains open to the community during the strike by Teamsters Local 332 and continues to ensure the safe, high-quality care patients deserve. 

The following statement addresses ongoing talks with the union. It is followed by important information about patient safety and staffing ratios.

We remain committed to reaching an agreement with the Teamsters that acknowledges our nurses’ unique, professional expertise and is a thoughtful investment in the future of Henry Ford Genesys Hospital.

We would prefer to have Henry Ford Genesys nurses working in our hospital and hope to welcome them back soon with a contract that is in the best interest of our team members, the patients, and the community. In the meantime, dedicated team members and contract nurses continue to provide the safe, seamless, high-quality care our community deserves.

Here are some important facts:

The hospital is open

• Henry Ford Genesys Hospital remains open and fully staffed by contract nurses and dedicated team members who are ensuring safe, seamless, high-quality care while their nursing colleagues strike. 
• All nurses were given the opportunity to choose to work during the strike. Our team members are welcome back to work any time.

Safe staffing and nursing ratios

• We’re committed to safe nurse staffing models that provide the best quality of care for our patients and our communities.
• We schedule staff based on multiple factors including recognized industry standards and patient volumes, but to maintain ideal nurse-to-patient ratios, people need to come to work.
• Under the contract that expired Aug. 20, Teamsters were eligible for premium pay based on the number of patients they care for each day. That benefit may incentivize coordinated call-offs and decrease the number of nurses available to care for patients. In the first half of 2025, Teamsters received $1.27 million in premium pay tied to this clause in their contract. This is one of the aspects of the contract that we have been negotiating.
• In the week leading up to the strike, 252 scheduled nurses called off work. 
• Teamsters’ nurses called off 5,872 times between Jan. 1 and Aug. 18, 2025.
• There has been a 22.9% surge in Teamsters call-offs at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital year over year. 
• Since the strike started, we’ve been experiencing fewer call-offs, which has allowed us to consistently maintain our ideal nurse-to-patient ratios. And we haven’t changed our staffing model.
• Mandated staffing ratios hinder our ability to adapt to varying patient conditions. 
• Research indicates mandated ratios increase wait times and patient boarding in emergency departments, delay transfers of patients into ICUs, and require clinically unnecessary patient transfers between hospitals. 
• A peer-reviewed study on the impact of government mandated ratios in Massachusetts ICUs, based on a June 2014 law setting a maximum patient-to-nurse ratio of 2:1, found mandated ratios did not increase nurse staffing or change patient outcomes.

The proposed contract

• Henry Ford Genesys Hospital’s proposed contract includes a robust and competitive compensation package that includes overtime and benefits.
• The competitive compensation package is aligned with what’s offered to nurses across all the other Henry Ford Health acute care hospitals—of which there are 13 in total. 
• The average annual salary for an RN in Michigan is $90,580. Based on the contract offered, 60% of union members will have a base rate pay of more than $100,000 a year. This does not include overtime or holiday pay. 
• The contract on the table offers the same high-quality, competitive health care benefits that are offered to team members across Henry Ford Health.
• Henry Ford Health took over operations at Genesys Hospital in October 2024. This is the first contract between the Teamsters and the new leadership.  
• New leaders determined provisions in previous contracts between Genesys Hospital and the Teamsters are inconsistent with Henry Ford Health system-best practices and are not in the best interest of efficient and fiscally responsible hospital operations.

Financial turnaround underway

• On October 1, 2024, Henry Ford Health assumed operations of Genesys Hospital, which has been in steep decline for years with average annual losses of about $50 million.
• New leaders are forging ahead with thoughtful and strategic steps to restore the hospital’s financial stability, including operational changes and/or consolidation of services. Labor negotiations are happening amid these turnaround efforts. 
• By addressing these issues head-on, Henry Ford Health affirms its deep commitment to its Genesee County team members and to advancing the health and wellbeing of everyone who calls the area home. 

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MEDIA INQUIRIES: mediarelations@hfhs.org