Elizabeth Kerwin v. Trinity Health Grand Haven Hosp.

── Elizabeth Kerwin v. Trinity Health Grand Haven Hosp. ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: May 01, 2026 Category: General RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 26a0127p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ┐ ELIZABETH K. KERWIN, Regional Director Seventh │ Region of the National Labor Relations Board on │ behalf of National Labor Relations Board, │ No. 24-1975 Petitioner-Appellee, > │ │ v. │ │ TRINITY HEALTH GRAND HAVEN HOSPITAL, │ Respondent - Appellant. │ ┘ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan at Grand Rapids. No. 1:24-cv-00445—Robert J. Jonker, District Judge. Argued: December 10, 2025 Decided and Filed: May 1, 2026 Before: BOGGS, BUSH, and READLER, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ARGUED: Richard W. Fanning, Jr., CLARK HILL PLC, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. Elise F. Oviedo, NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Washington, D.C., for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Richard W. Fanning, Jr., Brian D. Shekell, CLARK HILL PLC, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. Elise F. Oviedo, Kyle A. Mohr, NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Washington, D.C., for Appellee. READLER, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which BUSH, J., concurred. BOGGS, J. (pp. 22–34), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.  No. 24-1975 Kerwin v. Trinity Health Grand Haven Hosp. Page 2 _________________ OPINION _________________ READLER, Circuit Judge. Amid a contentious labor election process, Trinity Health declared that it would no longer recognize the union responsible for representing the employees of Trinity’s Grand Haven hospital. While administrative proceedings were pending before the National Labor Relations Board, the Board’s Regional Director petitioned the district court for a preliminary injunction under § 10(j) of the NLRA. The district court granted that request and ordered Trinity to resume bargaining with the union. Although the Director is likely to succeed on the merits, she has failed to demonstrate that irreparable harm will result without an injunction. We therefore reverse the district court and vacate its order granting the injunction. I. Trinity Health Grand Haven Hospital is a small community hospital serving patients in western Michigan. In years past, the facility operated under a different name. At the time, the hospital maintained affable relations with its employee union, which represented the hospital’s nurses, technical staff, housekeeping, and similar employees. But that relative peace soon ended when Trinity Health, a nationwide health system, acquired the hospital in June 2022. A few months before Trinity took over, the collective bargaining agreement in place between the hospital and the union expired. To keep in step with its new negotiating partner, the union voted to affiliate with the SEIU, an i