Mayo Clinic Workers See ‘Little Progress’ in Resumed Contract Talks

ALBERT LEA, Minn.—A six-hour negotiating session Dec. 28 between Mayo Clinic Health System executives and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota resulted in “little progress,” union bargaining team member Marlene Baseman told KIMT-TV. The talks, the first since May, came after management at the Albert Lea hospital locked out about 80 workers, from certified nursing assistants tohousekeepers, for a week in response to a one-day strike Dec. 19. Baseman said the sides still disagree on four major issues, including health-care benefits and Mayo’s demand that it be able to change the contract unilaterally to make benefits parallel those of nonunion workers. “They still want to modify at will whenever they feel like it, and that’s not what it’s about,” Bateman said. “We want to know on writing, in paper, on the contract exactly what we have and not wonder if it’s good day-to-day.” SEIU internal organizer Kassie Hobbs told the Albert Lea Tribune that the provision is “still on the table.” A Mayo spokesperson said the hospital “is focused on continuing to negotiate in good faith.” The union has offered to hold another session this month and in February.

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