Minnesota nurses’ strike to end after 44 days
Striking nurses at five Alliana Health hospitals in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area have approved a new contract, ending a walkout that lasted a combined 44 days between two separate strikes.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported the approved contract is similar to a deal offered Oct. 3, but it includes new financial incentives and guarantees on health benefits which some nurses still weren’t satisfied with.
“This was the worst and hardest vote ever,” said emergency room nurse Dawn Marie Sachwitz after voting for the contract. “I filled in a circle, erased it and put in another one.”
The more than 4,000 nurses will begin returning to work Oct. 16 as the replacement nurses are rotated out at the five Alliana hospitals: United in St. Paul, Mercy in Coon Rapids, Unity in Fridley and Abbott Northwestern and the Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis.
The negotiation proved to be costly on both sides. Nurses complained that the 2 percent annual raises gained in the deal are erased by being off the job for 44 days, while Alliana had to spend $20 million on temporary nurses during the first strike in June and had to commit more to keep the hospitals open during the second strike which began in early September.
Alliana said more than 630 nurses had crossed the picket line during the strike while the Minnesota Nurses Association said 200 nurses had permanently left the health system since June.
For more on the strike and its impact on Alliana, click on the link below:
John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.