MNA members holding strike authorization vote on Monday

Bailey Hurley and Krystal Frasier KSTP

MNA members holding strike authorization vote on Monday

Nurses across Minesota are holding a strike authorization vote on Monday. While some Twin Cities area nurses have been working without a contract all month, Duluth-area nurses will see their contract expire one week from Monday.

In all, 15,000 nurses will be voting Monday on whether a strike will be called or not, and the nurses’ union tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS this is not about a staffing issue, but rather a staffing crisis throughout the metro.

“Right now, we’re so understaffed that one nurse can be responsible for 3, 4, and up to 5 complex patients at once. That’s not just hard, it’s unsafe,” said Asher Herndon, an RN at United Hospital.

“These patients are children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and neighbors. They deserve better, and so do our nurses,” said Melisa Koll, an RN at Children’s Minnesota in St. Paul.

All that said though, in a statement from Twin Cities Hospital Group, they say the claim on recruitment and retention is just not true. The health group states in the last three years, North Memorial’s nurse vacancy rate lowered from 9% to 2.8%, while Fairview Health has seen a 36% drop in nurse turnover since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile at Children’s, the group says more than 300 nursing positions have recently been filled.

At a picket earlier this month, union representatives said while contract negotiations back in 2022 did bring improvements, their concerns with patient ratios are dire, adding in the last nine negotiations with hospitals, they claim leadership has shown little interest in recruiting new nurses and keeping veteran care givers.

If a super majority authorizes a strike on Monday, one can be called at any time as long as a 10-day notice is given to the 13 hospitals located across the state which would be impacted.

Click HERE for more coverage of the Minnesota Nurses Association.