Aspirus Iron River Nurses Ratify New Contract Through 2028

Registered nurses at Aspirus Iron River ratified a new union contract April 1, securing guaranteed annual raises, restored holdover pay, and enhanced shift differentials that hospital leaders and union representatives say are essential to keeping experienced nurses working in Iron County through the end of 2028.

The agreement, reached between the Michigan Nurses Association's local bargaining unit and Aspirus Health, takes effect immediately. It preserves experience-based wage structures while adding across-the-board annual raises and aligning some compensation elements with other Aspirus system facilities, a move intended to make the Iron River hospital more competitive within the broader network.

Among the most significant day-to-day changes: nurses required to stay beyond their scheduled shifts will again receive extra pay for those hours, a provision that had been absent in previous contract cycles and contributed to tension between staff and management. On-call assignments now carry higher rates, and both weekend and night shift differentials have been increased, changes that directly affect whether nurses are willing to cover the shifts small rural hospitals depend on to maintain unit staffing.

Nicole Fedie-Zaupa, co-president of the local MNA unit, framed the ratification as progress without declaring the work finished. "This contract moves us forward in terms of being able to recruit nurses and keep them at our hospital," Fedie-Zaupa said. "Passing this contract does not by any means end our work to hold Aspirus accountable for providing the health care that our community deserves."

Aspirus said it was "pleased that we achieved this outcome at Aspirus Iron River" and described the agreement as one that supports patients, team members, and the community.

The ratification follows months of negotiations and earlier disputes over staffing decisions, including reductions in certified nursing assistant positions that nurses said pushed additional workload onto charge nurses. The contract's passage aligns with a broader statewide pattern of MNA chapters using collective bargaining to secure pay and working-condition improvements at rural Upper Peninsula hospitals.

For an Iron County family, the contract's most direct effect may be reliability. Better pay for nights, weekends, and on-call shifts reduces the financial incentive for experienced nurses to leave for larger systems or travel-nurse agencies. Fewer vacancies mean less short-staffing in the emergency room and on inpatient units, and a better chance of continuity of care on the next hospital visit.

Both Fedie-Zaupa and Aspirus acknowledged that translating contract language into concrete scheduling and patient-care improvements will require continued attention. The agreement runs through December 31, 2028, giving both sides roughly three years to measure whether the new compensation structure is enough to move the needle on turnover and vacancy rates at the Iron River facility.