The strike began at 7 a.m., and impacts five metro hospitals: Abbott Northwestern, United, Mercy, Unity, and Phillips Eye Institute.
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Allina wants to drop the nurses from a health insurance plan in their union contract and move them to the coverage other Allina employees have.
The Minnesota Nurses Association said the strike would conclude at 7 a.m Sunday, June 26. Since contract talks began in February, Allina has refused to budge from its demand that nurses give up four union-sponsored insurance options and transition into “core” plans that cover most of Allina’s other employees.
Allina CEO Dr. Penny Wheeler said replacement nurses were being brought in and would help the hospitals operate normally. But Allina says it has provided more than 30,000 pages of such information – the vast majority of what has been requested.
“Even the nurses that were used to working in our units were very pleased as were our physicians”, she said.
Penny Wheeler, president and CEO of Allina Health, said 144 union nurses have chose to continue working through the strike week so far, the Star Tribune reported.
Nurses rejected Allina’s latest contract offer and authorized a strike earlier this month, contending the proposal would shift too much of the company’s health care costs to the nurses.
According to a report in Twin Cities by Nancy Ngo, “Among them were 600 nurses who walked out of Abbott Northwestern, where a press conference was held across the street Sunday. We believe we can solve these issues through a constructive dialogue”.
Allina says the current nurses’ plan will continue to become more expensive, especially in 2020 when taxes on these so-called “Cadillac plans” are scheduled to jump 40 percent.
Other unresolved issues include nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and workplace safety.
With this change, Allina Health is reducing its health costs to $10 million per year. Allina has also offered nurses a 2% salary raises in each of three years, but the union seeks 3% increases in each of the years.
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Almost 5,000 Twin Cities area Allina nurses remain on strike.
