Santa Clara, CA – On February 10, 80 nurses and healthcare professionals gathered in front of the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center to demand Kaiser Permanente meet them in good-faith at the bargaining table.

The United Nurses Associations of California/ United Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) are in their third week of an Unfair Labor Practice strike against Kaiser Permanente. Since the COVID lockdown of 2020, Kaiser Permanente has not replaced staff and threatens to cut benefits while taking away workplace protections, leading to high turnover and caregiver burnout among staff.

Nurses and healthcare professionals held signs with “On strike to protect our professions” and “Not thriving.” In addition to a picket line, they had picnic blankets and a DJ playing music that the community could enjoy while being in solidarity. Nurses and healthcare professionals discussed burnout and understaffing leading to delayed patient care. Cam Cook, a nurse anesthetist, said, “Kaiser is retaliating against our groups for organizing, for unionizing. They are trying to cut our benefits: healthcare and retirement.”

For the past couple of years, Kaiser Permanente has been ignoring nurses and healthcare professionals when they share the concerns they have about the quality of care patients are receiving. “That means a lot of long and difficult nights for providers like me,” said Cook. “We have been trying to have that addressed by Kaiser, but they have largely ignored us.”

During contract negotiations, Kaiser Permanente continued to waste the valuable time of nurses and healthcare professionals by continually not showing up to the bargaining table. “We can sum up what [Kaiser Permanente] has been doing as union busting,” stated Cook.

In addition to no-showing, union members report that Kaiser has taken punitive measures to retaliate against workers. “There has been a lot of retaliation in terms of not allowing people to change their schedules or do things we used to do,” Cooke continued.

Many strikers expressed that, although the strike is difficult, they feel a sense of newfound unity and solidarity with their coworkers that they do not see very often in the workplace. Physical therapists and nurse anesthetists pass each other by in hospital hallways every day, but on this picket line they stand together, united against Kaiser Permanente’s union busting.

#SantaClaraCA #CA #Labor #Nurses #Strike

New Orleans, LA – On January 26, nurses and community members gathered in freezing temperatures outside of Senator Bill Cassidy’s office. They demanded that he vote against increasing funding for ICE in a spending bill that is up for consideration in the Senate.

The event began with a moment of silence for Alex Pretti. A delegation of nurses and community members then entered the building. To find Cassidy's office on the second floor, they had to make their way through an unmarked, pitch-dark hallway.

“Nothing on the wall, no lights,” said Michael Robertshaw, a former nurse at University Medical Center, fired for organizing with National Nurses United.

The office was vacant, but participants made their presence known by taking pictures and videos. Signs at the event read “ICE not welcome here!” and “Will crush ICE for our patients.”

#NewOrleansLA #LA #ImmigrantRights #ICE #AlexPretti #Labor #Nurses

New Orleans, LA – On November 11, dozens of nurses represented by National Nurses United held a picket line demanding retention, an end to merit-based raises, and good faith contract negotiations. This three-day strike marks the fifth since University Medical Center (UMC) nurses won their union in December 2023. The New Orleans Nurses United is the first private-sector healthcare workers union to form in Louisiana.

Picketing nurses yelled chants like “UMC, you’re no good, treat your nurses like you should!” and “What do we want? A contract! When do we want it? Now!” Nurses also waved at passing streetcars and drivers, garnering public support.

During a break in the picketing, several nurses spoke out against LCMC Health System, the nonprofit corporation they work for.

“As I started my nursing career, I expected [to work for] a system dedicated to providing the best possible care to everyone in our community. Instead, what I found is a system that degrades, devalues and disrespects the nursing profession,” said David Duplechain, a nurse working in the neurointensive care unit.

“Some nurses here haven’t seen a raise in close to two decades. And this two percent merit raise that UMC gives to some of us if they like you–that two percent is insulting,” said Shawnda Franklin, a float pool nurse at UMC for ten years.

Alongside the nurses, a large contingent of community supporters joined the picket in solidarity, including representatives from the Communication Workers of America, Starbucks Workers United, United Auto Workers, United Teachers of New Orleans, United Campus Workers, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Members of the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) came to support the striking nurses from across the country.

“To LCMC management’s dismay, you’re still here, and the reason you’re here today has a name: retention, retention, retention!” emphasized Cokie Giles, a president of the NNOC and a nurse from Bangor, Maine.

Strikers expect to remain on the picket lines until November 13, at which point LCMC executives are expected to be at the bargaining table, ready to bend to the will of organized labor.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #Labor #Nurses #Strike #NNU #Feature

New Orleans, LA – On July 15 and 16, nurses at University Medical Center struck for the fourth time in their year-and-a-half long contract battle. Workers and supporters picketed outside the hospital. They carried signs reading “UMC: Stop hurting patient advocates” and chanted “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!”

“Instead of working in partnership with us to create the best hospital that we can, they have chosen instead to gaslight us, to shame us, to disparage us, and to retaliate against us. And we are here to say, on our fourth strike: no more, it stops here,” said Mike Robertshaw. Robertshaw is a leader in the nurses’ union who was fired for his union activity.

Nurses at UMC voted 82% for a union with National Nurses United in December 2023. They’ve been demanding adequate staffing levels for improved patient outcomes. UMC continues to stall negotiations.

Nurse picket lines have been a site of unity in the city’s labor movement, drawing supporters from unionized teachers, longshoremen, federal workers, postal employees, baristas, flight attendants, Teamsters and many others.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #Labor #Nurses #Strike

Duluth, MN – On Friday, July 19, striking workers were on the picket line at Essentia Health, Duluth Clinic 2nd Street. Friday marked the 11th day of an open-ended strike by around 700 Registered Nurses and Advanced Practice Providers (APP) who formed a union in 2024.

The workers are demanding that management sit down with them and negotiate their first union contract, more than a year after they won their union election and formed a union. In February of 2024 the RNs at Essentia Clinics voted to join the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) and soon after, in July 2024, the Advanced Practice Providers also joined MNA.

Now, more than a year later, Essentia management is refusing to negotiate a first contract with the advanced practice workers and has filed an appeal with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking to throw out the results of the election.

Essentia’s argument claims that advanced practice workers do not constitute a legally eligible bargaining unit under NLRB standards. However, this issue was litigated by the NLRB in 2024 and, after hearing both sides in a federal hearing the NLRB, ruled that the bargaining unit was valid and went ahead with the election. Once the workers won their election and formed a union Essentia was legally compelled to begin negotiating with the workers. To date, they have failed to do so and have said publicly that they will continue to refuse to do so as long as their appeal is unresolved.

At this time the union is in place and Essentia is legally required to negotiate with the workers until a time when the ruling is reversed, if it is. MNA has filed federal charges with the NLRB citing that Essentia committed an unfair labor practice by not bargaining with the newly-formed union.

Since Donald Trump was sworn into office in January of 2025, he has fired a sitting member of the NLRB board in Washington DC, meaning that the board no longer has a quorum to rule over cases which are appealed. This sets up a situation in which by appealing the ruling, regardless of validity of the appeal, the case will not be resolved at least until there is quorum again at the NLRB which could be in months or years.

On day eleven of the strike, the picket lines remained large and energetic with around 100 workers picketing at the 2nd Street clinic and another picket location at another Essentia clinic. Many cars driving by on 2nd Street honked and waved. Pizzas were delivered to feed the striking workers, and members of other unions in the area came out and walked the line in support of the strike.

Julie Flotten is an RN in the1st Street oncology building. Flotten said, “We have been working diligently just to try to get Essentia to create a contract with us, and confirm our jobs, not float us to areas that we are not trained, have transparency with us as employees and as an employer just give a promise in writing of how they are going to treat us so we can take care of our patients.”

Flotten went on to say, “We didn’t get hired to become float nurses. I worked really hard to become an expert in oncology. Essentia wants to be able to float us around based on numbers where they have low staff or wherever the need might be, but I wouldn’t be really good in OB or GI or neurology. I am really good in oncology, and so we want to have all of our colleagues work in the area that they are specialized in so they can deliver the best patient care.”

Brittany Ortler is a Nurse Practitioner in the gastroenterology department. Nurse Practitioners, along with Physicians Assistants and Midwives, form the advanced practice providers bargaining unit. Ortler stated, “We felt that the voices of the advanced practice providers were really not being heard at Essentia, and we felt that uniting the group together to unionize was really the only option that we had.”

Ortler continued, “We overwhelmingly voted to have a union. Since that time, after we voted, Essentia appealed that vote up to the National NLRB. The national NLRB – we gave them some time, and then the [U.S. presidential] election came and January 20 happened and the national NLRB no longer has a quorum so they are unable to even hear our case at this time, so we have asked Essentia to drop the appeal, we’ve asked them to come to the table to bargain with us, we’ve asked them to conditionally bargain with us while we are waiting for the appeal and they have just simply refused to acknowledge really that we exist and that we have rights to bargaining, so we are on an unfair labor practice strike.”

When asked what she would say to Essentia management, Ortler said, “We want to have a voice in how we care for our patients, the time we get to spend with our patients, whether that be being able to say no to having two patients scheduled at the same time and having to split your time between them both. We really feel strongly that we should be able to have a voice in how our patients are cared for,” adding, “We want to protect our patients, we want to protect ourselves, and we want to ensure that we are providing the best care for our patients as we can.”

To Essentia management, Flotten said, “Meet with us! Take this seriously! Take this as seriously as we are! People are losing their livelihoods right now. We don’t want to be out here walking when we are trained to be working, It’s a shame for our patients. None of us want to be out here on the sidewalk. It is not a vacation. The only glimmer is that we have made stronger relationships with one and another and made us stronger that way,” and, “Essentia needs to meet with us and bargain every day, and bring the advanced practice providers to the table and recognize their union, and to respect that these first contracts deserve a fair contract.”

#DuluthMN #MN #Labor #Nurses #Strike #Healthcare #MNA #NLRB #Feature

New Orleans, LA – On April 22, almost 100 nurses and their supporters rallied at the University Medical Center. They were scheduled for bargaining that day, but LCMC Health Systems (formerly Louisiana Children’s Medical Center) cancelled the session. Nurses demanded that LCMC come to the table and followed up on a strike announcement that they had made the day before.

“Instead of buying balloons and ribbons to placate us, sit at the damn table,” said Terry Moguilles of National Nurses United. She proceeded to tell the media that the nurses would be on strike May 1 and join the citywide May Day March for workers’ and immigrants’ rights.

The union is demanding adequate staffing for patients’ quality care. Nurses voted to unionize in December 2023 and have been in contract negotiations ever since. Step Up Louisiana helped to organize the rally.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #Labor #Nurses #NNU

Chicago, IL - On November 13, 1800 members of the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) went on strike against University of Illinois Health for continuing to refuse to negotiate a decent contract. Since June, the union has had 47 bargaining sessionswith UI Health, to no avail. In August, a week-long strike was held, but this did not stop management’s greed. The union wasleft with no choice but to go on an open-ended strike.

The workers are striking for higher wages, safety for nurses (and by extension, their patients), as well as family leave that lasts at least 12 weeks. UI Health has offered a measly 2% pay increase.

On the cold November day, 500 nurses and supporters ralliedoutside of the UI Specialty Care Building. They picketed, marched, chanted and listened to speeches starting at 7 a.m. When the overnight shift of nurses began to walk out of the UI Hospital, the waiting strikers broke out in cheers and applause.

Kathy Bollinger of the Illinois Nurses Association stated, “Who always has time for a break? Management! But do we have time to pump breast milk to feed our children? No! I had to switch to formula at just four months!”

Many drivers came by honking their horns to express solidarity. Supporters joining the rally and picket line included workers from other unions, such as at UPS, postal service workers, workers from the Chicago Transit Authority.

Jackson Potter, of the Chicago Teachers Union stated, “Who would we be as educators and nurses if we didn’t fight for other people to have those things?”

Joe Iosbaker, a retired member of the Service Employees International Union Local 73, spoke about the 2020 strike in the depths of the COVID pandemic. 4000 members of Local 73 joined 1300 INA members for nine days until management caved in. Iosbaker read the names of nurses Joyce Pacubas Le Blanc, Maria Lopez, and surgical technician Juan Martinez, all of whom died of COVID in May 2020. “Management told our members not to wear masks unless they were in a COVID ward, because it would scare the patients. They failed to protect us because they don’t care about us except to make profits!”

At midday, strikers started marching to the Dorin Forum one mile away on the east side of campus, and they kept the militancy up the entire time. People were chanting “No contract, no peace!” and “If we don’t get it, shut it down!”

For about an hour, nurses protested outside the Forum buildingwhere the board of trustees were meeting.

They then marched back to the west side of campus, where the negotiators came out to tell the strikers that the turnout is making management start to finally bend to the will of the workers.

One striker said, “I’m out here striking with the nurses, showing solidarity with my coworkers and my friends, fighting for a safe contract for us and the patients.” He continued, “We’re the ones who take care of this hospital and take care of the patients, and they’ll hear us loud and clear.”

“We’re fighting against workplace violence, we’re fighting for comparable wages to help us keep up with inflation, and we’re also fighting for patient safety,” said another striker.

The picket lines will continue every day and support from students and community is essential and helpful.

#ChicagoIL #INA #IllinoisNursesAssociation #UofIHealth #Nurses #Strike #CTU #SEIU #Feature

New Orleans, LA – On October 25, nurses at University Medical Center gathered on the corner of Canal and Galvez Streets for a one-day strike to demand safe staffing ratios, workplace safety protections, higher pay and improved benefits.

The strike began at 7 a.m. on Friday, when nurses joined the picket line outside the hospital. They were joined by dozens of community members, chanting loudly and proudly as they marched. Chants included “What do we want? A contract! When do we want it? Now!” Some signs read “If nurses are outside, there’s something wrong inside.”

The crowd was filled with energy, with music blasting and people dancing together. “It feels so uplifting to be out here standing together surrounded by our community,” said Zoe Krulak-Palmer, a nurse with National Nurses United (NNU). “Nursing working conditions are patient care conditions.”

University Medical Center nurses successfully unionized in December of last year. University Medical Center was the first private hospital in the state of Louisiana to successfully unionize with an 82% majority. They have been in negotiations with hospital management since March, with no progress on key issues. “We had hoped to avoid the strike, but the hospital left us with no other choice,” Krulak-Palmer said.

While many of the recent strikes in the country have been from an economic stance, the nurses at UMC are striking for better conditions for their patients. The nurses argue that while they give their all for their patients, the hospital does not give them adequate resources, short staffs nurses and leaves them without proper security.

“I have been a nurse at UMC for 18 years and have witnessed the change from a focus on patient care to profit over the years,” said Heidi Tuiague, a nurse on the bargaining team for National Nurses United. “Patients should always be our number one priority.”

The 24-hour strike was set to end at 7 a.m. on Saturday. At that time, as the nurses gathered and walked over to the hospital, they found the entrance locked with hospital security behind the doors. When the nurses walked over to a different entrance, security officers shut and locked the doors right in their faces. One of the nurses exclaimed, “We want to go in and treat our patients, but you are not letting us in!” The buses which brought the strike-breaking travel nurses were still parked right outside that same entrance.

It is clear that University Medical Center does not care about the community nor about employees. The hospital knew that the strike would last only 24 hours, but still chose to punish the striking nurses by not letting them back to work. The hospital chose to keep using the more expensive temporary labor from traveling nurses, who are unfamiliar with the hospital and with its patients.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #Labor #Nurses #NNU #Strike

Chicago, IL – Working as a nurse in a large university hospital is a hard job. Large numbers of patients roll through. Vulnerable people look for hope, remedy and help. Despite this persistent pressure, hospital administrators ask for quick patient turnover. Supervisors ask overstressed nurses to do the work of housekeepers, food service, technical staff and others, who are often in short supply. Some doctors are nice, while others boss nurses around.

This is the case at the University of Illinois Health (UIH) as well as healthcare facilities across the country. One difference is that the nurses at UIH have a labor union and decided to take a stand. The more than 1700 members of Illinois Nurses Association at UIH went on strike. Nurses that work in the large hospital, outside clinics and the new specialty care center suspended their seven-day strike on Sunday, August 25.

There are still many outstanding issues, with staffing and safety at the top of the list. “We do not have enough staff to provide for our patients,” said Maria Baba, a UIH transplant and ICU nurse. Understaffing puts nurses, patients and other hospital staff at risk as well. Patients that need treatment for mental health issues can put the remaining staff at risk. Family also get emotional and strike out when they know their loved ones are not getting the care that they deserve because the facility is understaffed.

Another issue is respect. UIH never gave adequate support or recognition to healthcare workers during the pandemic. UIH was a primary provider of healthcare for Chicago’s low-income West Side neighborhood during the pandemic.

Hospital administrators’ salaries have skyrocketed in recent years. Inflation has gone up 19%, eating into nurses’ standard of living. Despite this, UIH is offering wage increases of only 1.75% and 2%. Maria Baba, who sits on the union negotiating team, said of management proposal, “It is a joke. Just a joke.” As nurses return to work, they hope that management learned not to take them for granted. But if they do, Maria said of future tactics, “Nothing is off the table.”

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #Nurses #INA #Strike #Feature

Tampa, FL – Early in the morning March 4, nurses and their supporters rallied out front HCA Florida Largo Hospital in Largo to generate support for a good contract in the upcoming negotiations between HCA and National Nurses United.

Passing commuters honked their car horns as the crowd chanted in support of major nurse demands.

Contract negotiations begin March 5 for HCA nurses at ten hospitals across central Florida from Brooksville, south to Port Charlotte, and east to Orlando. Among the main demands are safe staffing levels and patient ratios, as well as fighting attempts to replace RNs with team nursing programs and technology.

The previous contract was negotiated in 2021 with the COVID-19 pandemic being a focal point. The contract expires May 31. HCA is the largest hospital system in the United States, making $5.2 billion in 2023. Florida senator and former governor Rick Scott made his name in the 90s after being forced to resign as CEO from HCA in a scandal over improper bookkeeping.

“HCA staffs their hospitals at 30% below the national average, we want them to staff it at 100%,” said National Nurses United bargaining committee member Karena Jimenez, in reference to one of the major demands they are fighting for in contract negotiations.

National Nurses United pledged to continue their struggle against HCA’s greedy practices.

#TampaFL #Labor #Contract #NNU #Healthcare #Nurses

Austin, TX – On Tuesday, June 27, over 200 nurses and supporters formed a picket in 100-degree weather outside of Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin. A part of the historic one-day strike of over 2000 nurses across Texas and Kansas, National Nurses United members authorized the strike by 98%.

Vanessa Villarreal, a nurse on the picket line said, “I'm a NICU nurse, so I take care of patients as small as my hand. I'm a mom and I shouldn't have to choose between taking care of my own baby and two others at work.” Villarreal continued, “I don't do it for the money, I love taking care of babies. But I also didn't become a nurse to be dragged through the dirt. The hospital has the money, but they don't want to negotiate.”

Starting in September of 2023, nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin voted 72% in favor to join NNOC/NNU, with the primary complaint being the poor quality of patient care. Beginning before the COVID-19 pandemic came to the U.S., Ascension began short-staffing their hospitals to raise their profit margins, creating unsafe working conditions for nurses and a potentially dangerous situation for patients. Because of this short-staffing, there are 128,000 registered nurses in Texas alone who either cannot find work in their field or are choosing not to due to the poor conditions at work.

Ascension is registered as a non-profit that provides “spiritually-centered holistic care,” but mistreats and understaffs its nurses so the CEO can take home $13 million a year. Despite their aim supposedly being to provide care for the communities they operate in, Ascension operates 13 investment accounts that are worth $41 billion and have $19 billion in cash reserves.

In response to the strike authorization, the management at Ascension is choosing to do a three-day lockout of all striking nurses. This move shows the bankruptcy of Ascension's supposed care of both their employees and the patients that are treated there.

Kris Fuentes, a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit said, “Ascension’s dangerous staffing practices disrupt our ability to provide quality care and it puts our patients at risk every day. This is a clear sign Ascension would rather use its vast resources to delay improvement than to invest in the care our patients and our communities deserve with appropriate staffing.”

Other unions, including AFSCME and IBEW, came out to support in solidarity of the strike and stood on the picket line. All in all, over 200 people came out to the picket, showing the greater community support for the nurses’ struggle.

#AustinTX #nurses #Strikes

Chicago, IL – At 7 a.m. on Thursday, June 24 nurses represented by National Nurses United (NNU) In Chicago, Illinois began a 24-hour strike against Cook County's health facilities’ management. The nurses are striking to end chronic staff shortages which they say have been undermining care for patients and the communities.

In addition to the NNU nurses, social workers represented by the Service Employees International Union, Local 73 (SEIU 73) will begin open-ended picketing of the same facilities, including John H. Stroger Hospital, Cermak Health Services, the Cook County jail, and Provident Hospital. The strike and the picketing are receiving support from the Chicago Teachers Union as well, which is encouraging its members to attend the pickets.

NNU member Consuelo Vargas is an emergency room registered nurse at Stroger Hospital and had the following to say, “Nurses are being pushed to a breaking point. Many patients have gone without care during the pandemic and are now beginning to seek treatment for their ongoing medical conditions. Yet we are constantly understaffed, and because of that, we are losing experienced nurses. In fact, we have lost a century of nursing experience over a six-week time span because so many of our experienced nurses left because they felt they could not provide the best care to their patients. We do not want to strike, we want to be at the bedside, but it is time for Cook County to create a plan to hire nurses to care for our community.”

NNU and SEIU Local 73 say they are striking and picketing to show Cook County health management that patients deserve safe responsible staffing levels and better services for communities in need.

#ChicagoIL #nurses #Illinois

Madison, WI – Nurses at Meriter Hospital in Madison represented by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are coming to what could be their final bargaining session with management from UnityPoint Health.

Throughout the COVID pandemic, many of the 850 nurses represented at Meriter Hospital had to use up all or most of their paid time off due to being sick or exposed to the coronavirus. Nurses at Meriter continue to be pressured to work longer hours and extra shifts due to staffing shortages.

A press conference was held March 19 to support these essential frontline health care workers. Speakers included religious leaders, executive board members of the NAACP, nurses at nearby UW-Hospital. Union leaders from across all trades and crafts – such as the construction trades, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), public school teachers, and Teamsters in package delivery – expressed support and solidarity and demanded that management come to fair terms with the nurses of Meriter Hospital.

“We need to stand up for our nurses because they stand up for us every day,” said Michael Jones of Madison Teachers Incorporated, a union representing many workers employed by the Madison Metropolitan School District. “I have students who want to be nurses. What kind of system are we sending people into when their rights and their humanity are not being supported?”

In the event of a strike, workers are encouraged not to cross their picket line, or offer management in Meriter Hospital any service or assistance until a contract is signed.

#MadisonWI #SEIU #PeoplesStruggles #nurses

The nurses are calling for proper personal protection equipment and information on reassignments. Nurses are working in units where they not being given the proper training on precautions to stay safe and do not have the necessary equipment to protect themselves. These nurses are in contact with patients who have COVID-19.

Modest Okorie, a registered nurse at Bethesda, states, “M Health Fairview is flagrantly violating the safety and staffing protections jointly agreed to by nurses and management, and yet our incredibly dedicated nurses are still throwing themselves into harm's way to protect the public.”

Okorie went on to say, “The vast majority of nurses within the entire M Health Fairview system have voted that they have no confidence in their leadership, CEO James Hereford and Chief Nursing Executive Laura Reed.”

#MinneapolisMN #Labor #Healthcare #nurses #COVID19

Dozens of nurses laid out the union’s demands at a UWHCA board meeting. Board members appeared largely indifferent to the presence of these workers expressing their need for recognition and better working conditions.

The demands put forward by the nurses at the meeting specifically centered around a few main points: voluntary recognition of the union by the board, direct the hospital and clinics administration to enter into a meet-and-confer process, restore the just-cause standard and Weingarten rights for all.

After the meeting where these demands were put forward, the board released a statement alleging that it was legally impossible to recognize the union due to the implementation of Wisconsin’s anti-union Act 10 in 2011. However, this claim is a lie. According to the union, voluntary recognition of their organization is legal under Act 10 and is not the same as collective bargaining.

The last union contract with UWHCA expired in 2014. Since then, the nurses tried to allow the hospital the opportunity to address their concerns through committees that were created and administered by the hospital. Unsurprisingly, these committees have led to no meaningful progress on the nurses’ patient care concerns.

“We’re demanding the resources, staffing and protections that are necessary to do our jobs effectively and advocate for our patients,” said Mariah Clark, an Emergency Department nurse at UW Hospital of five years. “By joining together in a strong union, we can raise standards, deliver the highest level of care for our patients, and ensure everyone who works at the hospital can provide for their families while caring for others.”

The upstart union has a strong position, as nationally there is a nursing shortage and locally there is a problem of low morale among UW nurses and other hospital staff. Madison can’t afford to lose more veteran nurses, but the workers are prepared to fight for their rights.

The union is hosting a public town hall meeting for residents of Madison and other supporters to learn more about the union drive and to learn how they can lend aid. The town hall is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on January 29 at the Madison Labor Temple.

#MadisonWI #PeoplesStruggles #nurses #UniversityOfWisconsinMadison

Minneapolis, MN – Striking members of the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) were standing strong on the picket line today, Oct.4, one day after rejecting a concessionary contract proposal. Anna Lee, a striking nurse said, “l voted no for my patients, my profession and the future.”

Another striker, Laurie Bahr, stated,“We have risen up to protect our community our families and ourselves. We are holding Allina to the highest standard, not the lowest common denominator.”

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #nurses #Minnesota #strikes

Minneapolis, MN – A majority of the striking nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association voted Oct. 3 to reject the latest contract by Allina Health. Nurses from Abbott Northwestern, Mercy, Phillips Eye Institute, United, and Unity hospitals will continue their open-ended Unfair Labor Practice strike.

The nurses’ negotiating team decided to bring Allina’s proposal, which they received at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 29, to a member vote, but the team did not issue a recommendation on whether to vote yes or no.

“In order to get some sort of monetary safety net to protect nurses moving to Allina’s high-deductible health plans, they were asking us to give more away,” said Abbott Northwestern Hospital Registered Nurse and Negotiating Team Member Angela Becchetti, “The nurses saw through that.”

Nurses told Allina negotiators about the continued problems with staffing and proposed to free the charge nurse from a dedicated patient assignment. Allina responded with a staffing committee to look at the issue.

“The nurses felt that although some progress was made in negotiations with Allina it wasn’t enough progress,” Becchetti said. “Nurses felt that the proposal took more away from nurses than it offered. Nurses said they would end their affordable healthcare plans in the year 2020, but they haven’t been adequately compensated for it.”

Other facets of the Allina proposal included a full-time security guard in the emergency rooms, face-to-face workplace safety training, a staffing committee, retention bonus, and an HSA/HRA account.

The vote result means the strike will continue, and both sides will have to return to the bargaining table to hammer out a deal. There are no plans at this time when that could happen.

“If Allina felt that nurses would accept anything just to return to work in October and get our health insurance back, they were mistaken,” Becchetti said. “This vote should tell Allina that nurses are strong and willing to hold out for a contract that respects their sacrifice and their profession.”

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #nurses #StrikeLabor

Minneapolis, MN – A majority of the striking nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association voted Oct. 3 to reject the latest contract by Allina Health. Nurses from Abbott Northwestern, Mercy, Phillips Eye Institute, United, and Unity hospitals will continue their open-ended Unfair Labor Practice strike.

The nurses’ negotiating team decided to bring Allina’s proposal, which they received at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 29, to a member vote, but the team did not issue a recommendation on whether to vote yes or no.

“In order to get some sort of monetary safety net to protect nurses moving to Allina’s high-deductible health plans, they were asking us to give more away,” said Abbott Northwestern Hospital Registered Nurse and Negotiating Team Member Angela Becchetti, “The nurses saw through that.”

Nurses told Allina negotiators about the continued problems with staffing and proposed to free the charge nurse from a dedicated patient assignment. Allina responded with a staffing committee to look at the issue.

“The nurses felt that although some progress was made in negotiations with Allina it wasn’t enough progress,” Becchetti said. “Nurses felt that the proposal took more away from nurses than it offered. Nurses said they would end their affordable healthcare plans in the year 2020, but they haven’t been adequately compensated for it.”

Other facets of the Allina proposal included a full-time security guard in the emergency rooms, face-to-face workplace safety training, a staffing committee, retention bonus, and an HSA/HRA account.

The vote result means the strike will continue, and both sides will have to return to the bargaining table to hammer out a deal. There are no plans at this time when that could happen.

“If Allina felt that nurses would accept anything just to return to work in October and get our health insurance back, they were mistaken,” Becchetti said. “This vote should tell Allina that nurses are strong and willing to hold out for a contract that respects their sacrifice and their profession.”

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #nurses #StrikeLabor

Minneapolis, MN – More than 200 union members and striking nurses rallied across from Abbot Northwestern hospital, Sept. 30, and then marched on the corporate headquarters of Allina Health to press the demand for a decent contract. The march was organized by the strike support committee called Workers United for Nurses.

More than 4000 nurses have been on strike since Sept. 5. A key issue is Allina’s insistence that the nurses make major concessions on health care.

“We are here to stand with stand with nurses. Your fight is fight. You are an inspiration to all of us,” said Cherrene Horazuk of Workers United for Nurses and president of AFSCME Local 3800.

Striking Minnesota Nurses Association members will vote Monday, Oct. 3 on a new contract agreement. The proposal was placed before MNA members without a recommendation from the MNA negotiation team. At the rally a number of striking nurses expressed opposition to the proposed agreement.

Above: Laurie Bahr, Cardiovascular ICU nurse at Abbott, urges a no vote on a proposed contract.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #nurses #strikes

The nurses were there to send a message to John Church, a senior vice president of General Mills and chair of the Allina board of directors, to use his power as chair to reach a decent contract for nurses.

The rally was energetic and spirited with nurses chanting “Where’s John Church?” “Nurses on the outside, trouble on the inside” and “Nurses united will never be defeated.” Allina nurses who got tickets to go inside texted that the chanting could be heard loud and clear – and speakers were having trouble giving their speeches.

Community people and union members spoke at the rally. Ann Maczuag said, “As educators, we know better than most what it means when corporations attack our public institutions. We share many similarities – working with diverse communities, doing more with less, are mostly women, and are advocates for families we serve. That’s why my union, The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, stands with nurses in this fight today, tomorrow and as long as it takes!”

After the meeting the three Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) proxy shareholder, who were inside, gave reports. Julie Anderson, a mental health nurse said she told the shareholders and directors, “I’ve been assaulted many times and we need security personnel.” Adequate security for patient and staff safety is one of the demands. Barb Forshe said, “It was harder to get in to the meeting then I thought. They actually had security.” She also told attendees at the shareholders meeting, “We want to be on the inside taking care of patients, not on the outside.”

Negotiations between MNA and Allina resumed Sept. 27. The negotiating team was sent off to resume talks knowing the nurses are standing firm and resolved to do what it takes to get a good contract.

Rally & March in Support of Striking Nurses Friday, September 30, from 4-7 pm @ Anderson United Community School, 1098 Andersen Ln, Minneapolis March on the Allina Headquarters and show your solidarity with nurses as they get ready to launch their Red October on the picket lines. Organized by Workers United for Nurses.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #nurses #Minnesota #Strikes