Mary Turner, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association joins nurses striking (Sept 12, 2022)
Photo : AP
Holding signs bearing messages such as “Patients Before Profits,” employees gathered in groups in the early morning hours to protest outside some of the 16 affected hospitals, according to photographs the union posted online.
Hospitals have planned to continue providing care, albeit with possible disruptions.
But it stressed it will continue to offer its “full range of services” including inpatient, outpatient and emergency care, and that it would serve customers for any previously scheduled appointments.
The two sides have been negotiating for more than five months, without reaching an agreement.
“Right now in Minnesota, nurses are overworked, hospitals are understaffed, and patients are overcharged,” MNA said in a statement.
The union said it was seeking solutions to staffing shortages and work safety issues, while hospitals want to focus solely on salaries.
A group representing the hospitals says it has proposed wage increases of 10-12 percent over three years. The nurses are seeking raises in the range of 27-30 percent.
The hospitals argue that “with the constant change in healthcare, all those who work in healthcare need to adapt to how we serve people.”
