Ten thousand Teamsters nurses at Corewell Health East in metro Detroit have voted by 73% to ratify their first Teamster contract. This is a huge win for the newly-formed Local 2024 and the International Union.

With a contract in hand, nurses are focused on building their local – from training stewards to enforcing their contract.

“We did this together with members playing big and small parts,” said nurse Suzi Carbone. “We are just getting started and are so excited for Corewell East nurses to have a voice at work!”

Nurses at Corewell voted in 2024 to join the Teamsters. Once they were at the bargaining table, Corewell management dragged out negotiations for a year. 

Under current labor law, there is no mechanism to force employers to reach a first contract. In theory, they are required to bargain “in good faith,” but bad faith is legally hard to prove and an army of union-busting attorneys help employers skirt the law.

Some employers stall in the hopes that their newly unionized staff will lose steam and give up before ever reaching a first contract. 

Teamsters nurses at Corewell pushed back against stonewalling. They voted to authorize a strike and organized practice picketing. Finally, management settled. 

“I’m proud of everybody for pushing through every obstacle we’ve faced since getting together in a nurse’s basement in 2023,” nurse Jody Woodley said. “We’ve learned so much about what it means to be a union and have a contract through this process. The knowledge we gained will only help us grow stronger in the future.”

Two thousand nurses at UnityPoint in Des Moines, Iowa are next up. They voted to join Teamsters Local 90 in December 2025 and are waiting for the National Labor Relations Board to officially certify their election and for contract negotiations to begin. 

Teamsters nationwide are pushing for the Faster Labor Contracts Act, federal legislation that would expedite contract negotiations and strengthen the power of workers to win first union contracts.