Members of Teamsters Local 2024 at Corewell Health East held a rally in Detroit, supported by Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and other officials. The gathering aimed to urge their employer to cease actions perceived as hostile towards unionized workers.
Fred Zuckerman addressed the crowd, stating, “It’s no secret that management at Corewell has been disrespecting you and your co-workers for a long time. And now that you’ve become Teamsters, they are all too eager to continue that disrespect.” He added a warning to Corewell: “Buckle up — because you’re in for the fight of your life.”
The dispute traces back to November 2024 when Corewell nurses successfully countered a $1.7 million campaign against unionization by voting three-to-one in favor of joining the Teamsters. Since then, nurses allege that Corewell Health East’s management has withheld economic benefits from them, such as wage increases, bonuses, and 403(b) matches provided to nonunion employees.
Alyson Zajac, a nurse at Corewell Health East in Dearborn, expressed frustration: “We are being attacked by our own employer — but these attacks only pour fuel on the fire within us as pissed off, fed up, and overworked nurses.”
The upcoming week will see the start of contract negotiations between Teamsters and Corewell Health East for their first collective bargaining agreement covering nearly 10,000 nurses.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters was established in 1903 and represents over 1.3 million workers across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. More information is available at Teamster.org.
