Contact: Lauren Nielsen
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org
(St. Paul) – September 22, 2023 – On Thursday, an overwhelming majority of Allina’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) voted to be represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association.
“The conditions of our work have become unsustainable, as Allina has left us chronically short-staffed, leading to a high turnover rate. This means we can’t always respond to victims of violence, leaving them to either go to another hospital system or wait hours for a specialized nurse to respond. We want to be there for our patients who need our services, which is why we voted to have a collective voice in our workplace by unionizing with MNA,” said Stephanie Gunderson, an Allina SANE RN.
SANE nurses provide sensitive, compassionate, and skilled care to people at their most vulnerable. Due to low pay, long and unstable hours, and the stress of the position, Allina executives are driving caring, compassionate, and competent nurses away from this vital work.
“MNA members welcome Allina SANE nurses to our union family,” said MNA President Mary C. Turner, RN. “We are excited to assist them as they take their seat at the table and have a say in their workplace.”
Nurses will now begin the process of organizing their new union by electing officers and initiating negotiations for a first contract.
The Minnesota Nurses Association represents 22,000 nurses in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and North Dakota.
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