IRONWOOD, Michigan (WLUC) - Nurses at Aspirus Ironwood Hospital voted together on Wednesday to refuse a contract offer from the healthcare system.
This occurs following MNA nursessubmitted a federal labor complaint last month, they stated, to "compel Aspirus back to the negotiation table" — a gesture that Aspirus described as "unfounded."
Now, the MNA states that nurses have turned down Aspirus's offer, partly because it removes the pay system that recognizes nurses' experience and offers lower compensation than the MNA's proposal for almost half of the nurses.
It's not surprising that our members made their stance clear by informing Aspirus that their unfair proposal is unacceptable," said Sarah Trudgeon, a registered nurse at the hospital and president of the local Michigan Nurses Association union. "We require fair pay to ensure nurses remain at our hospital and can deliver the highest quality care.
As per the MNA, Aspirus's plan ties future salary raises to "market value" instead of a set percentage following this agreement. Nurses argue that this approach does not provide the necessary competitive pay to both draw in and keep nurses at the hospital, which is crucial for maintaining safe staffing levels at all times.
According to the Aspirus plan, we would be sacrificing guaranteed salary increases for years and almost half of us would earn less than we would with our team's proposal," Trudgeon added. "It's embarrassing that, just as Aspirus is reducing healthcare services throughout the U.P., it's unwilling to invest in the nurses who deliver the care.
Furthermore, the MNA stated that the proposal does not effectively tackle the upcoming shutdown of the OB unit and thenurses’ proposalconcerning it. Aspirus intends to shut down Ironwood's OB department by the end of the year.
Nurses on the negotiation team stated that Aspirus has demonstrated minimal concern for preserving the OB unit or lessening the impact of the shutdown,even though lawmakers provided state financial support to preserve it. In the meantime, Aspirus has previously stated, "Accepting public funds to temporarily support an unsuitable care model would not have been prudent"."
In an email statement to TV6, Aspirus states:
Aspirus Health expresses disappointment upon discovering that registered nurses (RNs) affiliated with the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) have rejected the robust and equitable offer presented on October 10, 2025.
Aspirus feels the proposal was thorough and addressed employee needs by offering a flexible and competitive pay package that includes an immediate 7.1% raise in wages, which is greater than the MNA's previous wage offer featuring a "step schedule," along with assured wage growth in the second and third years of the agreement. This market-based pay model will align Ironwood RNs with RNs throughout the Aspirus network. In the last five years, these market increases have significantly surpassed the MNA's "step schedule."
Furthermore, the proposal features higher amounts for "Call Pay" (the payment nurses receive when called in for an unexpected shift) and "Shift Differential" rates.
These salary adjustments help Aspirus Ironwood keep existing employees and attract new professionals, enabling us to maintain top-notch care in the U.P.
We will keep negotiating in a sincere manner and anticipate our upcoming negotiation meeting. Our ongoing objective is to reach a settlement that fulfills our three-part responsibility to our patients, our employees, and the outstanding communities we support.
In the meantime, the MNA mentioned that nurses will also organize a demonstration on Friday to push for a balanced agreement as they get ready to begin negotiations. They will also demonstrate against further reductions at the hospital, which they claim involve removing nearly all certified nurse assistants, adding charge nurse responsibilities, and stopping overnight emergency surgeries.
Both parties go back to the negotiation table on October 24th.
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