Michigan Attorney General to Investigate Scabs' Credentials
November 27, 2002
(Petoskey, MI) -- On November 21, the State of Michigan’s Department of the Attorney General requested a list of names of all replacement nurses at Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey, Michigan. Members of the Petoskey community are concerned that they, or members of their families, might be receiving nursing care from staff that is not licensed. Nurses in the State of Michigan are licensed and regulated by the Michigan Public Health Code. Section 17211 of the Public Health Code provides as follows: “A person shall not engage in the practice of nursing or the practice of nursing as a licensed practical nurse unless licensed or otherwise authorized by this article.” The above statutory provision of the Public Health Code clearly requires a nurse who practices in Michigan to be licensed by the Michigan Board of Nursing. The scab nurses were recruited by Denver’s U.S. Nursing Corporation. Advertisements by the company recruiting out-of state nurses contain a representation that a Michigan nursing license is “preferred”. Nurses at Northern Michigan Hospital were forced to strike on November 15 after management failed to negotiate a first Teamsters contract in good faith. More than 450 nurses at the hospital joined Local 406 in Grand Rapids earlier this year. The Local 406 members cite unsatisfactory wages, benefits and patient loads as well as a lack of say in hospital operations as issues that need to be addressed. Nurses have also said there is a direct correlation between the national nursing shortage and the low wages, long hours and poor benefits nurses receive. Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States and Canada.
Michigan Attorney General to Investigate Scabs' Credentials
Replacement Nurses May be Violating Law Governing Practice of Nursing in State
