Union nurses and advanced practice providers strike across MN
Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, July 8 around 300 registered nurses working at clinics for Essentia Health In Northern Minnesota began an open-ended strike. The nurses are represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) and have filed unfair labor practice charges against their boss Essentia Health. Management is refusing to bargain in good faith with the unionized workers.
Two days into the nurses’ strike, on July 10, around 430 MNA members, advanced practice providers (APP), also walked off the job in dozens of locations. These workers began an open-ended strike of their own against Essentia Health. APP includes nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, and clinical nurse specialists across 69 locations of Essentia. The union workers are running joint picket lines and events.
The striking nurses formed their union in February 2024, and the APP workers joined in July of 2024. Union membership was then certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This legally compels management to begin bargaining with the newly unionized workers.
Now, a year after the workers won NLRB certification, Essentia Health is appealing the ruling that granted the workers their union. That appeal could take anywhere from months to years to be relitigated, and until then the employees’ bargaining unit is legally certified. This requires management to bargain in good faith with the union. The boss’s position is that they refuse to fulfill their obligation to bargain until their appeal has been ruled on.
The MNA strike will continue until Essentia Health management decides to return to the bargaining table with the union members.