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‘Everyone is exhausted and burned out’: McLaren Central nurses authorize potential strike
For nearly 20 years, Christie Serniak has loved being a nurse at McLaren Central Michigan Hospital in Mount Pleasant. As tends to be the case in health care, there have been plenty of ups and downs — this is, after all, a world in which life begins and ends. But, over the past couple of […]
MyMichigan Alma nurses approve strike authorization
An overwhelming majority of nurses at MyMichigan Alma voted Wednesday to authorize a strike should union leaders determine it’s necessary in negotiations over their contract that expired in November, the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) said. Ninety-seven percent of the nurses who voted backed the strike authorization; 3% opposed it. There are approximately 150 nurses working […]
Nurses at two mid-Michigan hospitals voting on strike authorization this week
Updated 2:57 p.m., 1/25/23 Years of deteriorating labor conditions and months of working without a contract have prompted nurses at two hospitals in mid-Michigan to hold strike authorization votes this week, union leaders said. Approximately 150 nurses at MyMichigan Alma are holding their strike authorization vote Wednesday, and about 100 nurses at McLaren Central in […]
After years of misogyny, racism and threats in Lansing, progressive women are in charge
The paintings lining the walls of the Michigan Capitol tell a story of power, of the primarily white men who — year after year, decade after decade — have dominated the state’s political landscape. There are the exceptions: The portrait of Eva McCall Hamilton, a suffragist from Grand Rapids who became the first woman elected […]
‘The youth of America were never meant to attend so many funerals’
Updated 3:35 p.m., 1/19/23 with additional comments from Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks At first, there was chaos. As students ran from the bullets being fired into an Oxford High School hallway on Nov. 30, 2021, Maddie Johnson and her best friend, Madisyn Baldwin, were separated while the teenagers desperately looked for a safe space. […]
Benson, Dem lawmakers announce plans to protect election officials in wake of threats
After threats against election workers have soared in the wake of a right-wing campaign to push lies about the 2020 election, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Democratic lawmakers announced Tuesday plans to protect election officials and crack down on those intentionally sharing misinformation about elections and voting. “As Michigan’s chief election officer, my […]
Democratic leaders detail tax plans they say will lift Michiganders out of poverty
Hundreds of thousands of Michigan families could soon see thousands of more dollars in their pockets if the state legislature backs Democrats’ plan to repeal the state retirement tax and expand Michigan’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other Democratic leaders said during a press conference on Thursday. “Rolling back the retirement […]
‘We deserve to be here’: Advocates urge lawmakers to protect transgender rights
When Rachel Crandall-Crocker came out as transgender in 1997, she did so to live. “I came out because I had to,” said Crandall-Crocker, the executive director and co-founder of Transgender Michigan, a group that works to empower transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals and communities throughout the state. “My therapist told me if I didn’t come out, […]
COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and cases decline in Michigan
COVID-19 cases declined over the past week in Michigan with 10,927 new cases recorded in a weekly report from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released Tuesday. Cases decreased compared to the last report released on Dec. 20, which documented 14,323 new cases for the week. The department reports a total of 2,988,654 Michiganders […]
‘I’m still subject to death threats,’ Upton says as he prepares to leave Congress
Sitting at a borrowed desk in the Washington, D.C., office of his longtime friend and colleague U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) had two words to describe 169 Republican House members voting against a bill protecting marriage rights for same-sex and interracial couples: “dark ages.” “This is about people’s […]
‘Everyone’s just a dollar sign to them’: Gannett journalists reel from new cutbacks
Every Thursday and Sunday morning, David Veselenak would head outside. Without fail, the Livonia Observer would be waiting for him — one of the papers the 34-year-old journalist and Livonia resident writes for — and he would dive into its pages. He loved that feeling — the one he’d had since he was a child […]
Borgess nurses ratify contract that boosts wages at Kalamazoo hospital
Nurses at Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo ratified a new contract that increases wages and boosts benefits in an attempt to attract and retain workers, the union representing them announced Wednesday night. The three-year agreement covers more than 300 registered nurses who have been working without a contract since Nov. 11, the Michigan Nurses Association […]