Lansing, MI – Healthcare workers at Sparrow Home Care have voted to form a union with the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA). With over 90% turnout in the election, the result of the vote count held today by the National Labor Relations Board was 31 votes in favor of unionizing and 0 votes opposed.

“We are so excited to have successfully won our union,” said Sarah Pangle, an occupational therapist at Sparrow Home Care. “Because we are now united together as a union, we will be able to use our collective voice to advocate for our patients.”

As a result of this unanimous vote, over two dozen healthcare workers will now have a union. They will join nurses at Sparrow Home Care who were already unionized as members of MNA, as well as nurses and healthcare professionals at Sparrow Hospital who are also MNA members.

“We are thrilled to be able to welcome our colleagues at Sparrow Home Care as our union siblings,” said Katie Pontifex, RN and president of the MNA local at Sparrow Hospital as well as a member of MNA’s board of directors. “We know that we are strongest when we are all united.”

Job classifications in the new union will include occupational therapists, occupational therapist assistants, physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, speech language pathologists, social workers, and home health aides.

Healthcare workers at Sparrow Home Care are the first group of employees in the Lansing area to win a union in 2022 through the National Labor Relations Board. They hope that other workers will soon follow suit. Local baristas at Starbucks filed for a union election in February to form a union with Starbucks Workers United. The election has not yet been held.

“Being in a union is about recognizing that by working together you can make a difference. You can make your life, your coworkers’ lives, and your community better,” said Alice Tramper, a physical therapist at Sparrow Home Care. “It’s about understanding the power of solidarity.”

The Michigan Nurses Association is the largest and most effective union for nurses and healthcare professionals in Michigan, representing approximately 13,000 members across the state. MNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United and the AFL-CIO.

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Contact: Amelia Dornbush, 517-896-7478