Officials of the Teamsters Local 2024 union may soon order 10,000 nurses at nine Corewell Health facilities in the Detroit area to go on strike.

The situation presents serious concerns for nurses who believe there is much to lose from a union-ordered strike and may not want to abandon their patients. That is why employees confronted with strike demands frequently contact staff attorneys at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation to learn how they can work during a strike to support themselves and their families.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is the nation’s premier organization exclusively dedicated to providing free legal assistance to employees victimized by unions. The Foundation has a long history of defending employees against unlawful union actions during a strike. If you are concerned about your rights in the case of a union-ordered strike, you should seek information from independent sources like the Foundation and not rely on what union officials tell you.

Employees have a legal right not to be members of the Teamsters or any other union. Employees who signed union membership cards, or are unsure as to what they might have signed, have a legal right to resign their memberships at any time.

Corewell nurses who want to work during a union-ordered strike should ensure that they are not members of the union before they return to work during a strike. If an employee is not a union member, he or she can work during the strike without fear of union fines and other penalties. If employees are unsure whether they signed union membership cards, they should take affirmative steps to resign union membership before working during the strike. The best way a union can fine and discipline an employee for crossing a picket line is if the employee signed a membership card and did not resign before working during the strike. If the employee did not sign a union membership card or resigned his or her union membership before crossing the picket line, the union has no power to do anything to that employee.

MICHIGAN COREWELL NURSES SHOULD KNOW THEY HAVE THE FOLLOWING RIGHTS DURING A STRIKE:

1. You have the right not to be a union member. If you are currently a union member, you can resign your union membership at any time by sending the union a letter resigning your membership. If possible, use a carrier with a tracking number and save copies of your resignation letters and the tracking number to prove delivery. Email the letter too, so there will be further proof with dates. We caution against hand-delivery because proving delivery can be difficult. If you do hand deliver a resignation letter, make sure that you have a reliable witness to the delivery and keep a copy of exactly what you delivered to the union official.

2. You have the right to go to work during a strike if you are not a member of the Union. To cross the picket line without penalty, you must be a non-member of the union or resign your union membership at least the day before returning to work. If you are a member of the union and do not send in a resignation letter, you could be subject to fines for working during the strike. If you are unsure of your membership status and want to make sure you are not a member of the Union, we suggest sending in a resignation letter to confirm your non-member status. See Union Discipline and Employee Rights.

3. If you wish to eject the Teamsters from your workplace, you have the right to circulate or sign a decertification petition to obtain a secret ballot election to do so. A decertification election would give nurses the ability to vote in a secret ballot election on whether they want Teamsters union officials to exclusively represent them. See Decertification Election.

Go to About Your Legal Rights: Private Sector Employee to learn more about your rights, and contact the NRTW Foundation at https://www.nrtw.org/free-legal-aid, legal@nrtw.org, or 800-336-3600 with any questions.