More than 750 nurses and case managers at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, Michigan, have now been on strike for more than nine months — one of the longest nursing strikes in recent U.S. history. The walkout, which began September 1, 2025, shows no signs of resolution as the hospital continues operating with replacement workers and the Trump-era NLRB has dismissed the union's primary unfair labor practice charge.
The strike is organized by Teamsters Local 332, whose members walked out over nurse-to-patient ratios, wage increases, and a return-to-work guarantee protecting seniority for striking nurses. On April 7, 2026, the NLRB dismissed the Teamsters' ULP charge alleging the hospital unreasonably delayed furnishing health insurance data during negotiations — finding the hospital had acted "lawfully and in good faith."
NLRB Dismissal and What Comes Next
The April NLRB ruling was a significant setback for Teamsters Local 332. The charge alleged Henry Ford Genesys had unlawfully withheld health insurance information during collective bargaining — a standard surface-bargaining tactic under the NLRA. The board found the hospital had provided the requested data in a timely manner and dismissed the charge without a hearing.
Teamsters Local 332 President Dan Glass said the dismissal was "one singular charge" out of "a dozen more out there from surface bargaining" and other alleged violations. The union had until April 21 to appeal. As of early June 2026, both sides met for their 89th bargaining session in late May, again without resolution.
The hospital's most recent contract offer includes the same nurse-to-patient ratios from the expired contract, general wage increases, and premium pay for weekends and critical shift openings. The Teamsters rejected it, with the return-to-work guarantee remaining the central sticking point. The union wants nurses reinstated to their original shift and unit assignments; the hospital wants flexibility in placement on return.
Replacement Workers and the Hospital's Claim
Henry Ford Genesys has operated continuously with replacement nurses since September 2025. The Teamsters filed a separate NLRB charge alleging the hospital illegally hired permanent replacements — a serious violation, since nurses walked out over ULP allegations, making them legally entitled to return without displacement. The hospital denies it has permanently replaced strikers.
In March 2026, the Teamsters released a statement detailing how management had prioritized staffing replacement workers over reinstating experienced union nurses. If the NLRB sustains a permanent-replacement charge, the hospital's legal exposure expands considerably — mandatory reinstatement, back pay, and potential civil penalties under the NLRA could all be on the table.
Context: Nine Months, No End in Sight
The Genesys strike crossed 275 days in early June 2026. For reference: the high-profile 2022 Minnesota nurses' strike lasted three days. A nine-month nursing strike is extraordinarily rare and reflects a deep structural breakdown in the bargaining relationship between the parties.
Henry Ford Genesys is a 410-bed hospital serving the Flint metro area in Genesee County, Michigan — a county with among the higher rates of uninsured and Medicaid-covered patients in the state. The nursing workforce at Genesys was historically stable. The replacement operation the hospital has run for nine months represents a management bet that the union will exhaust its resources and return on management's terms before an NLRB case produces a court-ordered remedy.
Meanwhile, the broader Michigan nursing environment adds pressure. Corewell Health East's 10,000 nurses voted 90% to authorize a strike in March 2026, and SSM Health St. Mary's Madison saw 870 Wisconsin nurses vote in a union election this week. Whether the Genesys standoff hardens or breaks in the next weeks could influence how Michigan's other healthcare labor disputes resolve.
Nine months. These nurses have been walking a Michigan picket line through winter, spring, and now summer — refusing wages, burning through savings, watching replacement workers fill their old spots. This is what "staying the course" looks like when a hospital decides it would rather run a replacement operation than settle a contract. The NLRB dismissal stings, but Teamsters say they have a dozen more charges in the pipeline. Whether those land before the membership votes with its feet and returns on management's terms is the real question.