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.
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Allina nurses on the picket line overnight outside Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis said they’re concerned about the patients they left behind inside the hospitals.
The union contends that Allina wants to shift too many new costs onto nurses, without adequate compensation.
Nurses who can prove they have a financial emergency because of the strike can apply to tap into MNA’s $4.3 million strike fund.
She’s worked there for five years as a full union member but made a decision to leave the union and become a “fair share” member this past June before Allina nurses went on a one-week strike. The current contract with the nurses expired June 1, and the union went on a strike earlier this summer for one week, to protest their opposition to Allina’s decision to switch out healthcare plans. He expects to see more nurses join them as they examine Allina’s most recent offer and “see what a fair offer it is”.
Several hundred union nurses have also crossed the picket line to work.
In their September 6 news conference urging resumption of talks, the union said doing so would “bring experienced nurses back to the bedside”. And with Allina refusing to bargain since then, nurses held a press conference on September 6 urging management to return to negotiations. All other hospital chains in the Twin Cities and throughout the state and region await with anticipation any wounds inflicted on the Allina nurses and will follow in Allina’s footsteps.
The two sides met Friday with federal mediators.
Unlike the nurses’ weeklong strike in June, “This time we have no choice but to walk out with no end date”, she said.
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Health insurance is the key issue. Fedor Obada of Blaine, whose wife just gave birth to twins at Mercy Hospital, said the quality of care was affected. “For example 20 percent of nurses at unity hospital have agreed to come back to work, cross the picket line and come back to help take care of patients”. Penny Wheeler, Allina’s president and CEO, was at the Health Catalyst conference in Utah along with Dr.
