More than 15,000 Minnesota nurses have signed off on strikes at 15 hospitals across seven different health systems, according to announcements from their union.
The Minnesota Nurses Association said Tuesday its members have voted “overwhelmingly” to authorize the strikes upon delivery of a 10-day notice to their hospital employers, which are located in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul) and Twin Ports (Duluth and Superior).
The Twin Cities have been working without contracts since May 31 while Twin Ports workers’ contracts expired June 30, according to the union.
Nurses said the core of their negotiations focused on short staffing and retention, which they said are driving overworked nurses from the profession and damaging patient care.
“Corporate healthcare policies in our hospitals have left nurses understaffed and overworked, while patients are overcharged, local hospitals and services are closed, and executives take home million-dollar paychecks,” said Chris Rubesch, a registered nurse at Essentia in Duluth and first vice president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, in a statement from the union. “Nurses have one priority in our hospitals, to take care of our patients, and we are determined to fight for fair contracts so nurses can stay at the bedside to provide the quality care our patients deserve.”
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