Michigan’s healthcare system is in crisis—but not because we lack innovation, ideas, or money. It’s because the people at the center of care—nurses, techs, and support staff—are being overworked, underpaid, and burned out while CEOs collect multi-million dollar salaries and billion-dollar expansions take priority over bedside staffing.

In a recent op-ed, Henry Ford Health CEO Bob Riney called for a bold redesign of Michigan’s healthcare system. He spoke of innovation, prevention, and collaboration—but left out the most urgent and obvious issue: the treatment of frontline workers.

Right now, nurses in Michigan are striking for fair contracts. Hospitals are running short-staffed. And the people who literally save lives every day are being told there’s no budget for better pay, safer staffing ratios, or meaningful worker protections—even as construction cranes go up and executive compensation soars.

If Henry Ford Health truly wants to lead, it must start by honoring the people who make healthcare possible.

This petition calls on Henry Ford Health and other major Michigan hospital systems to:

• Commit to fair, competitive wages for all healthcare workers
• Guarantee safe staffing levels to protect both patients and providers
• Respect union rights and negotiate in good faith with striking or organizing workers

We also call on Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and state legislators to support policies that improve Medicaid reimbursement, strengthen worker protections, and hold healthcare corporations accountable for how they treat their staff.

Healthcare reform doesn’t start with glossy expansion plans or buzzwords. It starts with justice for the people already carrying the weight of a broken system.

If Michigan wants to lead the nation in transforming care, we must first transform how we treat caregivers.

Sign this petition if you believe every healthcare worker in Michigan deserves respect, safe working conditions, and fair pay.

Photo: Justin Wan/Detroit Free Press