Nurses picketed over lack of contract

After working nearly two months without a contract, nurses from Three Rivers Health-Beacon Health Systems staged a rally Tuesday to bring visibility to their plight.

More than 50 nurses, joined by a number of family members and supporters, staged a 90-minute picket outside the West Broadway Street facility. Emergency Department nurse Brandy Shoup, president of the local Michigan Nurses Union, said contract negotiations are not set to resume until next month.

Shoup said not only is the lack of a contract troubling, but, she alleges, Beacon continues to make greater demands of its nurses without giving consideration to their well-being.

Shoup, a registered nurse who has worked at the hospital for more than five years, said nurses are seeking fair and appropriate compensation; limits on the amount of mandated overtime hours; and adequate staffing.

The most-recent contract, which expired March 31, covered a three-year period. Shoup said the union is once again seeking a three-year agreement.