DULUTH, MN (KDAL) – The Minnesota Nurses Association held informational pickets at the two hospitals in Duluth and 11 Twin Cities hospitals on Wednesday to highlight issues in contract negotiations.
At the core is staffing and the nurses say the ratios of nurses to patients is at the same level as the early days of the COVID and say that more patients are being cared for by fewer nurses.
The Nurses Association says hospital executives continue to prioritize profits over safe patient care.
The contracts for nurses at St. Luke’s and Essentia in Duluth expire at the end of June.
A news release from Essentia Health in Duluth says the nurses association is more interested in the pickets around the state than reaching deal before the deadline. They say of the 54 days offered for negotiations by the hospital, only eight were agreed to by the union.
Essentia says the nurses have not yet shared their wage and benefit proposal or responded to the hospital’s contract proposal.
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