About 178 nurses at MyMichigan Medical Center Alma in central Michigan ended a three-day unfair labor practice (ULP) strike on July 6, 2026, at 7 a.m. — only to find that the hospital had called off roughly 25% of its nursing staff for that morning's shift, citing insufficient patient census. The nurses, represented by the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA), had walked out July 3 after months of stalled contract negotiations and six pending NLRB unfair labor practice charges against hospital management.
The contract has been expired since February 2026. Contract talks broke down not just over wages — MyMichigan's final offer included zero raise in the first contract year and only 1% increases in each of the following two years — but also over a pattern of conduct the union says crosses into illegal territory. The MNA filed six ULP charges with the National Labor Relations Board, all currently under federal investigation.
What the Six NLRB Charges Allege
A ULP strike is distinct from an economic strike — it's called specifically in response to conduct the union alleges violates the National Labor Relations Act, rather than over bargaining terms alone. The distinction matters because ULP strikes carry different legal protections for striking workers and different reinstatement rights. The MNA filed six ULP charges that are under NLRB investigation:
- Retaliatory withdrawal of proposals: Management pulled bargaining proposals from the table after the union provided legally required strike notice — alleged to be direct retaliation for protected collective action
- Unilateral shift-trade policy change: Without bargaining to impasse, the hospital stopped allowing nurses to trade shifts in advance of the strike — an alleged unilateral change to working conditions that requires bargaining under the NLRA
- Unilateral psychiatric nurse deployment change: Management changed policies on pulling and assigning psychiatric care nurses to other departments without bargaining, another alleged NLRA violation
- PTO accrual on weekend overtime: The hospital refused to allow PTO accrual on weekend overtime despite language in the existing contract permitting it — the union argues this is a contract breach and a ULP
- Direct dealing with non-union staff: A hospital representative communicated bargaining proposals directly to the broader hospital staff — bypassing the union, which is the legally recognized exclusive bargaining representative — rather than at the negotiating table
- Threat against a union representative: A hospital representative allegedly threatened a union representative, stating nurses would "never get a contract" after the union gave picketing notice
If the NLRB finds merit in the ULP charges, it can order remedies including restoring withdrawn proposals, compensating nurses for unilaterally altered working conditions, and potentially requiring management to re-engage in good-faith bargaining from a clean slate. The threat allegation, if substantiated, could also result in individual findings against specific management personnel.
The Post-Strike Calloff
When nurses attempted to return to work the morning of July 6, the hospital called off approximately 25% of nursing staff — roughly 45 nurses — claiming there weren't enough patients to justify full staffing levels. The MNA described this as retaliatory, noting the calloffs disproportionately affected union nurses and coincided with the strike conclusion. MyMichigan management framed the calloffs as routine census management.
The legal context here matters: under labor law, an employer generally has discretion to adjust staffing based on census. But conducting significant calloffs of returning strikers on the first day back — selectively or in patterns that correlate with union activity — can itself constitute a ULP. Whether the NLRB adds this to its investigation or treats it as a separate matter will depend on whether the pattern of calloffs shows disparate impact on striking nurses.
Zero raise in year one while negotiating a contract that expired five months ago, six pending NLRB charges, and sending 25% of the staff home after they return from a ULP strike — this isn't a difficult bargaining dispute to read. The ULP charges are the core: if those are substantiated, management's legal exposure extends beyond this contract cycle. The nurses at Alma are a small unit at a community hospital in central Michigan, which is exactly why the outcome matters — these are the facilities where leverage is hardest to build and where labor law enforcement is the primary backstop when local power dynamics don't balance out.
Where Negotiations Stand
As of July 7, 2026, contract negotiations at MyMichigan Alma are ongoing but no agreement has been reached. The MNA has not announced another strike date, but the pending NLRB charges remain an active pressure element. MyMichigan Medical Center Alma is part of MyMichigan Health, a regional health system affiliated with University of Michigan Health.
The Alma strike was one of multiple Michigan nursing labor actions in 2026. The broader Michigan nursing market has seen persistent staffing pressure, with the Michigan Nurses Association active in multiple simultaneous contract campaigns — a pattern that reflects national trends toward higher nurse union density and more aggressive bargaining across smaller community hospital markets that historically operated with lower union presence.
For nurses following the contract situation at Alma: the MNA's public updates and any NLRB determinations on the six pending charges will be the clearest signals of where this heads next. A finding of merit on even one or two of the charges would materially change the legal and bargaining dynamic.