Minnesota Nurses Prepare for Second Strike

August 25, 2016 
By Steven Wishnia and Neal Tepel
St. Paul, MN – Nurses at the Allina Health hospital chain have rejected a contract offer and authorized a second unfair labor practice strike.

The Minnesota Nurses Association said it had been willing to give concessions such as raising deductibles and out-of-pocket costs, but that the three-year deal Allina proposed would have forced the nurses to pay for almost all cost increases, and would have terminated their health plans if less than 1,000 members were enrolled. “We know that forcing nurses to shoulder the costs of insurance that Allina manages means the company will put our insurance in a death spiral,” said Angela Becchetti, a registered nurse at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. “The costs will get so high, nurses will have to leave our plans.” The company’s proposal also would not have increased staff-to-patient ratios and did not guarantee training to deal with workplace violence. Read more