Munson Medical Center Nurses Work Without Contract as Negotiations Continue

About 850 nurses at Munson Medical Center have been working without an active contract since March 10, with negotiations between Munson Healthcare and the Traverse City Michigan Nurses Association still ongoing and no new agreement in sight.

Both sides say the lapse is not uncommon for a three-year contract cycle, but the gap has stretched into its third week with no bargaining dates yet confirmed. Laura Nilsson, president of the TCMNA, said nurses are not walking off the job. "There's no work stoppage on our part, and there's certainly no intent on the hospital's parts to not pay us during this time," she said. "We renew the contract every three years."

The union is pushing for a pay increase, stronger benefits protections, and greater input on staffing decisions. A newer and more unusual sticking point involves artificial intelligence. Nilsson said the TCMNA wants enforceable protections ensuring that technology does not displace nursing judgment at the bedside. "We're really concerned about technology and AI and nursing," she said. "Some of these technologies are designed to kind of reduce our nursing judgment. So anytime that is a potential, we want to be able to say that nursing judgment should always have a place there, as opposed to just relying on a potentially untested or less trustworthy machine to be making some decisions."

Jennifer Standfest, Munson Healthcare's Chief Nursing Officer, declined to predict a timeline but said progress is being made. "I don't really want to speculate on how long it will take, but just know that we're continuing to listen," Standfest said. "We're continuing to make progress, and we're really committed to making sure that we get this contract into a good place."

Under Michigan labor law, when a contract expires, wages, differentials, scheduling, seniority, holidays, and health benefits remain in place. The hospital, however, retains the right to make unilateral decisions on hiring, discipline, termination, and layoffs. Notably, the union's no-strike and picketing clause also expired with the old contract, which means nurses retain a legal option to stop work if talks break down entirely, though Nilsson has made clear the union has no current plans to exercise it.

Future bargaining dates have not been set. The TCMNA is looking at days in early April to resume formal talks with Munson.

In the meantime, the association is holding a community town hall Wednesday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the Delamar Hotel in downtown Traverse City. The meeting is open to nurses and anyone in the community who wants to hear directly about what is at stake in the negotiations.