Lansing nurses and caregivers at University of Michigan Health-Sparrow are overwhelmingly in favor of their union calling a strike.
Around 2,000 hospital employees have been working without a contract since the end of October.
The vote ended Wednesday with 98.7% choosing to allow the union’s bargaining team to call a strike, if needed.
They’re represented by the Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital-Michigan Nurses Association.
President and registered nurse Jeff Breslin says negotiations with UM Health-Sparrow are still taking place through next week.
"Right now, they're quite a ways off from where we need to be. The ball is in their court. They are going to be able to decide whether or not we're going to have to call a strike."
The union would give the hospital a 10-day notice if a strike is being called.
Breslin says union members are primarily concerned about wages, health care and worker safety.
"Our members take care of our community, take care of our friends and family as they come into the hospital, and we want to be able to provide the absolute best care for them," he said. "People should not have to go outside of Lansing to receive incredibly good care. We should be able to do that here, but to be able to do that, we have to get a good contract.
This is the first contract the union has negotiated with UM Health since the provider merged with Sparrow in 2023.
A statement from UM Health-Sparrow says officials remain confident an agreement can be reached without a strike.
"We are committed to continuing our collaborative discussions with these team members that represent our valued patient care teams and play an important role in health care delivery," the statement said.
"We are currently planning to ensure safe staffing levels if a strike occurs. Patients can still expect to receive the same high-quality care."
