DULUTH — Essentia Health has reached a tentative contract agreement with acute care hospital nurses in the Twin Ports, averting a strike that was set to begin next week.
The accord, reached Friday morning, includes a 9.75% wage increase spread over the next three years, according to the Minnesota Nurses Association. It also contains a one-year freeze on reductions to current staffing ratios, the union said, and protections against changes in employment terms.
“Our fight has never been just about contracts — it’s about patient care — and these wins will enable us to provide that care more safely than before,” MNA President Chris Rubesch said in a news release. “We will move forward with these wins while also recommitting to the fight for safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios. It’s what our patients deserve, and it’s what our nurses deserve.”
The bargaining unit covers approximately 1,500 nurses at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center and the Miller-Dwan building in Duluth, as well as Essentia Health St. Mary’s Hospital-Superior.
“I’m proud of my fellow nurses who pushed both sides to find a resolution that kept them at the bedside caring for our patients,” said Rhonda Kazik, chief nurse executive at Essentia. “Nurses are called to this profession because they want to care for others, and we’re grateful to have some of the best in the profession here at Essentia Health. We have prioritized patient care throughout these negotiations and will continue to do so in every community we serve.”
The nurses’ previous contract expired Monday. Members are set to vote on ratification of the new agreement in the coming weeks.
The deal came just one day after Congress passed President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill that will reduce Medicaid spending by $1 trillion and lead to 11.8 million more uninsured people, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The MNA on Thursday also canceled a strike that was set to begin at Aspirus St. Luke’s hospital in Duluth, citing substantial progress in negotiations and the expectation that a tentative agreement will be reached in the coming days.
But strikes still loom at several other Essentia properties where units are negotiating their first contracts. Ambulatory nurses at the Duluth Clinic’s First, Second and Third Street buildings, the Superior Clinic, Miller Hill Surgery Center and Solvay Hospice House are set to walk off the job Tuesday.
Related Articles
2 dead in St. Cloud after pickup driver flees police stop, collides with car
Operation Dry Water targets impaired boating during July 4 weekend
Stillwater approves first — and only — adult-use recreational cannabis retail business
Twin Cities nurses avoid strike, but Duluth walkout still possible
Walz authorizes state disaster assistance after St. Louis County wildfires
Advanced practice providers in Essentia’s East Market are also set for an unfair labor practices strike beginning Thursday.
“Our members fighting for first contracts deserve to have dignity and respect in the workplace — and that means having a fair contract,” Rubesch said. “We continue to call on Essentia to bargain in good faith with our members, which means also coming to the table to start the bargaining process with advanced practice providers.”
Essentia officials noted first contracts in health care typically take about 18 months to finalize. Bargaining with those units has been underway for four to 11 months so far.
The health system said it is taking steps to “ensure minimal disruption to patient care” during potential strikes, though Solvay will temporarily pause care due to its unique “wall-to-wall” MNA representation.
Leave a Reply