Striking nurses picket 5 hospitals in Minnesota

Almost 5,000 nurses took to the picket lines on Monday – Labor Day – as they began an open-ended strike at five Twin Cities hospitals operated by the Allina Health system. They said their counter-proposal, which Allina did not respond to, contained agreements on many issues, including workplace safety, improvements to staffing and a monetary safety net for nurses who could face financial ruin by moving to the higher-deductible Allina insurance plans.

Thousands of nurses at five Minnesota hospitals on September 5 began an open-ended strike in a dispute over health insurance, workplace safety and staffing. Allina said that they would transition the nurses to the new plans by 2020, a timetable that the union is not ready to accept.

But the union’s executive director, Rose Roach, told members in an open letter that Allina still wants to shift too many costs onto nurses without adequately compensating them for the higher costs they would incur. The nurses’ most recent contract expired in May.

The union met with management Friday to negotiate a new three-year contract with federal mediators. Allina CEO Dr. Penny Wheeler says the hospitals will continue to deliver high-quality care.

“Nurses are committed”, Becchetti said.

Numerous returning nurses were placed in the same departments, which helped for a smooth transition Monday morning, said Mandy Richards, chief nursing officer at United Hospital.

Allina is not offering water births for the duration of the strike but said that it doesn’t intend to suspend any other services at this time.

Around 15-hundred temporary nurses have been brought in as replacements during the strike. Some services may be consolidated at Unity and Mercy hospitals, and if that happens, any affected patients would be notified directly, Kanihan said.

Almost 5,000 nurses are on strike in Minnesota following a breakdown in contract talks. Allina has estimated that eliminating the nurses’ four union-backed health plans would save the health system $10 million per year.

Brady and Ciampi were skeptical. The first strike lasted seven days whereas the second strike is open-ended, meaning it will last until a deal is reached, according to the article.