Dozens of unionized nurses showed up in force Thursday to speak directly to the University of Michigan's governing board about their workplace concerns amid the possibility of a walkout.

On Monday, thousands of nurses at Michigan Medicine, the medical arm of the university, announced they had voted to authorize a work stoppage up to three days long "to protest ongoing and continuous violations of their workplace rights."

But no date has been scheduled for a strike, which will go ahead "if University officials fail to remedy their ongoing unfair labor practices," the union said in a statement.

The union must give the medical system a "10-day notice of a strike and we still hope to avoid any work stoppages," Michigan Medicine spokeswoman Mary Masson said, adding that the university considers a strike to be illegal under state law.

U-M's board of regents did not include the labor dispute issue on their formal agenda Thursday, but listened to several supporters during the public comment section of the meeting.

Regents Denise Ilitch, Mark Bernstein and Andrea Fischer Newman among others each addressed the nurses directly, saying that they hope the medical professionals feel respected during the contract negotiations and that the labor dispute comes to a quick and fair resolution. Regent Andrew Richner said coming to new terms for a nurses' contract should be a top priority for the university.

"Show us!" came the response from several nurses in the audience.

The university's Professional Nurses Council represents 5,700 nurses at U-M hospitals and other health care facilities. More than 4,000 people voted last week with 94 percent in favor of a strike.

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"We are disappointed that our UMPNC nurses have voted to approve a strike," Masson said. "We have been bargaining in good faith since January and have offered a competitive package."

Nurses argue while the U-M Health System's top officials say they are committed to maintaining staffing levels, the university during bargaining talks has refused to make that commitment in writing.

It's unclear what exactly would happen if the nurses walk out. Masson said that "it is illegal for public employees to strike." Michigan Medicine will take legal action to prevent a strike, she added.

According to Masson, a strike could also put patients at risk. However, the health system has been preparing a contingency plan including hiring temporary workers and rescheduling non-emergency procedures.

Union officials said some of their members in critical areas of the health system could stay on during a work stoppage because of the nature of their work.

As for the issues at hand, Masson said the university has "excellent nurse to patient ratios. Our ratios are in the top 2 percent of all hospitals in the country." But some nurses said in interviews they believe that U-M is failing to negotiate in good faith on the issue.

"We're in a fight for a fair contract," said Ruth Moscarello, a 36-year-old labor and delivery nurse from Ypsilanti who carried her 2-year-old son Nolan on her hip outside the regents meeting Thursday.

The current offer from Michigan Medicine involves pay raises across the board of at least three percent "and a competitive paid maternal/parental leave program that includes six weeks of paid leave for physiological recovery from birth of a child and six weeks of paid parental leave to employees after a birth, adoption or foster care and guardianship," Masson said.

Robert Dean-Ware, 48, an orthopedic registered nurse at U-M, said staffing levels are sufficient in his department but he has heard complaints from his colleagues about other parts of the university health system.

"I'm concerned about the future," Dean-Ware said as he stood outside the regents meeting.

Donna Carnahan, vice chairwoman of the University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council, said in an interview that she has never seen labor relations so poor in the 35 years she has worked at U-M.

"We need the regents' support," she said of the turnout of her colleagues in matching red shirts. "There is nothing happening at the (bargaining) table."

Free Press reporter Marc Daalder contributed to this article. Contact Matthew Dolan at 313-223-4743, msdolan@freepress.com or on Twitter at @matthewsdolan.