“For me, part of it is about them not wanting to address anything unless we were willing to give up a major benefit”, Eva Phelps, a nurse at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, told the Star Tribune.
Advertisement
The Minnesota Nurses Association, which represents the 4,800 workers, announced the news Monday, noting that nurses voted by more than a 66 percent super majority.
Even if Allina’s nurses authorize a strike today as expected, a walkout requires 10 days’ notice.
“Allina’s negotiators never made the case why they need to cut nurses’ health plans and ask nurses to pick up $10 million in costs”. A spokesman said Allina was disappointed in the vote and believes continued good-faith negotiations can avoid a strike.
“Allina Health has refused to bargain about any of the other outstanding issues the nurses have brought forward, including staffing and workplace violence”, Becchetti said. Much of the savings, it says, would result from the higher cost-sharing the union opposes. The company insists cost-sharing “encourages thriftier choices, such as going to an urgent care when a much more expensive emergency room visit would be overkill”. “Now if I were to go on the Allina core plan I would pay $12,000 just to have a child”, she said.
The union said the proposed contract unfairly shifts health care costs to the nurses.
Becchetti said Allina’s corporate plans could cost nurses thousands of dollars more a year.
Allina’s leaders said that union plans followed for long involve higher premiums, but lower or zero deductibles.
“We are committed to transitioning them to our corporate health plan”, Kanihan said.
Advertisement
The nurses could take a vote to strike at one, or all, of the Allina Hospitals.
