What Teamsters are Saying and What You Should Know About the Strike at Genesys Hospital

Grand Blanc, Mich.-- We understand our community will hear from union spokespeople in the coming days. We encourage all audiences to consider their claims in light of the information below.

Additional information about strike preparations can be found here.

What Teamsters are saying:

Our members are caring for four and five patients more than what nursing specialty organizations recommend. (WNEM TV 8/19/25)

What you should know:

We consider multiple factors when staffing our hospitals, including recognized industry standards and patient volumes, but inconsistent staffing affects individual workloads and disrupts patient care. 

Dig Deeper:

• There has been a 22.9% surge in Teamsters call-offs at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital in the past year.
• Teamsters members have called off 5,872 times between Jan. 1 and Aug. 18, 2025.
• On average, 25 Teamsters members call off each day at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital — the equivalent of an entire unit of staff.
  • At Henry Ford Rochester Hospital, on average, 4 nurses call off each day; at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, 11 nurses call off each day. Both hospitals are similar in size and scale to Henry Ford Genesys Hospital. 

What Teamsters are saying:

Henry Ford Health will not agree to nurse-to-patient staffing ratios. (Facebook 8/19/25)

What you should know:

Henry Ford Health is committed to safe nurse staffing models that provide the best quality of care for our patients and our communities. At all other Henry Ford Health acute care hospitals, bedside nurses and nursing leaders are empowered to make real-time staffing decisions based on the acute needs of our patients. 

Dig Deeper:

• Mandated staffing ratios hinder our ability to adapt to varying patient conditions.
• We consider multiple factors when staffing our hospitals, including recognized industry standards and patient volumes.
• Research indicates mandated ratios don’t change patient outcomes or lead to a better patient experience — they can increase wait times and patient boarding in emergency departments, delay transfers of patients into ICUs, and lead to 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.
• Contractually mandated ratios do not guarantee consistent staffing.
• Nurse to patient ratios were part of the Teamsters contract that expired Aug. 20.
• Teamsters members have called off 5,872 times between Jan. 1 and Aug. 18, 2025.

What Teamsters are saying:

The hospital wants to take away our premium pay, including overtime and holiday pay. (Facebook 8/19/25)

What you should know:

The contract on the table includes overtime and holiday pay that is consistent with what is offered across the Henry Ford Health system.

Dig Deeper:

• Under the contract that expired Aug. 20, Teamsters were eligible for premium pay based on the number of patients they care for each day, which may incentivize call-offs and decrease the number of nurses available to care for patients.
• There has been a 22.9% surge in Teamsters call-offs at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital so far this year. 

What Teamsters are saying:

We have “no idea” what our health care costs will be. (Dan Glass, Facebook 8/19/25)

What you should know:

Henry Ford Genesys Hospital’s proposed contract includes a robust and competitive compensation package that includes health care benefits. 

Dig Deeper:

• Information about the health care benefits offered is readily available to team members. 
• The contract on the table offers the same high-quality, competitive health care benefits that are offered to team members across Henry Ford Health.
• The Teamsters are asking the hospital to pay more for a benefits package through another insurance provider.

What Teamsters are saying:

This contract will not bring professional RNs to this hospital. (Facebook 8/19/25)

What you should know:

Henry Ford Genesys Hospital’s proposed contract includes a robust and competitive compensation package that includes overtime and benefits that align with what’s offered across the 13-hospital Henry Ford Health system. 

Dig Deeper:

• 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.

What Teamsters are saying:

The hospital wants to take away things we have had in our contract for 25 years. (Facebook 8/19/25)

What you should know:

Henry Ford Health took over operations at Genesys Hospital in October 2024. This is the first contract between the Teamsters and the new leadership. 

Dig Deeper:

• Henry Ford Genesys Hospital’s proposed contract includes a robust and competitive compensation package that includes overtime and benefits.
• The competitive compensation package on the table is aligned with what’s offered across all 13 Henry Ford Health acute care hospitals.
• New leaders determined provisions in previous contracts between Genesys Hospital and the Teamsters are inconsistent with system-best practices and are not in the best interest of efficient and fiscally responsible hospital operations.
• Genesys Hospital has been in steep financial decline for years, with average annual losses of about $50 million. This is not sustainable. To continue serving the people of this community, we must take strategic and thoughtful steps to restore the hospital’s financial stability. Labor negotiations are happening amid these turnaround efforts.

What Teamsters are saying:

“In gutting incentives for new nurses and increasing — often doubling or tripling — the number of patients nurses must cover, our employer is creating a dangerous environment and encouraging new nurses to look elsewhere for employment.” (Crain’s Detroit Business 8/27/25)

What you should know (incentives):

Henry Ford Genesys Hospital’s proposed contract includes a robust and competitive compensation package with overtime and health care benefits. It is consistent with what is offered across the Henry Ford Health system. 

What you should know (staffing & safety):

Henry Ford Health is committed to safe nurse staffing models that provide the best quality of care for our patients and our communities. At all other Henry Ford Health acute care hospitals, bedside nurses and nursing leaders are empowered to make real-time staffing decisions based on the acute needs of our patients.

Dig Deeper:

• We consider multiple factors when staffing our hospitals, including recognized industry standards and patient volumes.
• Contractually mandated nurse to patient ratios do not guarantee consistent staffing.
• Nurse to patient ratios were part of the Teamsters contract that expired on Aug. 20.
• Under the contract that expired on Aug. 20, Teamsters were eligible for premium pay based on the number of patients they care for each day, which put fellow team members and patients at risk for coordinated call-offs.
• When Henry Ford Health took over operations in October 2024, new hospital leaders recognized provisions in previous contracts between Genesys Hospital and the Teamsters are inconsistent with system best-practices and are not in the best interest of efficient and fiscally responsible hospital operations.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES: mediarelations@hfhs.org