Labor Unions (Page 2)

On:
In: Activism, Elections, Erin Murphy, Governor, Healthcare, Home, Issues, Labor Unions, Nurses, Unions

By Katie Gjertson

MNA Political Coordinator

 

Minnesota’s Primary Election is right around the corner! Eligible voters from every corner of the state will have their chance to cast their ballot in support of the candidates they believe line up with their values, their issues and their vision for the future of Minnesota. Primary elections are our opportunity, as voters, to shape the ticket to reflect what we want it to be in November. Let’s get out the vote for the 2018 Minnesota primary!

Never voted in a Primary Election before? Here are the top ten things you need to know before you head to the polls.
… Read more about: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know to Be a Primary Voter  »

Franklin Street Bakery rally

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In: Action, Activism, Home, Labor Unions, Organizing, Super Bowl, Unions

By Cameron Fure

MNA Political Organizer

It’s Super Bowl week, and the mayhem has swept up the Twin Cities. The whole region is sprucing up and getting ready for the big game. It’s our chance to bask in the spotlight, and host one of the largest sporting events in the world. The North Star state is known the world over for its hospitality, but there’s a few things that visitors do not know. The story of the Franklin Street Bakery workers isn’t likely to appear in any halftime commercial.

Owner Wayne Kostroski wants to be known as a philanthropist, business mogul, and model citizen.
… Read more about: Taste of Justice  »

On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Home, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Sanford

By Diane Scott, RN

MNA Member

We all know the stories. A mom couldn’t get her son to the right specialist because it was out of the hospital’s “network.” Another mom couldn’t get occupational or physical therapy for her daughter without having to fight like hell to get it. How many times have MNA nurses cried at work and heard the stories of their long fights with their employer because their children could not get the healthcare they deserve? What about the non-contract employees and patients who can’t fight?

On October 24, 2017, MNA decided to fight back. We filed a second step class action grievance on behalf of all Registered Nurses working at Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota Bemidji.
… Read more about: The Union Difference  »

On:
In: Education, Home, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association

By Barb Brady

MNA Communications Specialist

The excitement is building for MNA’s 2017 Convention and House of Delegates Oct. 15-17 in Rochester.

MNA nurses from throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Iowa will gather for three days of inspiration, learning, planning MNA’s future – and fun!

This year’s theme is “Organize. Agitate. Educate.”

The schedule is packed with activities to empower delegates to return home with the skills and knowledge to organize, agitate, and educate your colleagues for the challenges we face in the next year.

Nurses will be treated to a special presentation of a play by Michael Milligan on Oct.
… Read more about: Organize. Agitate. Educate.  »

On:
In: Home, Labor Unions, Politics, Women

By Jackie O’Shea

MNA Government Affairs Administrative Assistant

As the Governmental Affairs Assistant for MNA, I don’t typically write blogs. I support the political and legislative staff and send you all the emails about Day on the Hill, calls to action, events, and volunteering. However, I’m currently filling in on this week’s blog for MNA Political Organizer Extraordinaire Eileen Gavin, who is out on maternity leave for the summer.

 

I speak for all my co-workers and fellow union brothers and sisters who take pride in working for and belonging to a union that values the importance of family first.
… Read more about: The Importance of Family First  »

On:
In: Action, Activism, Home, Labor Unions, Unions

By Cameron Fure

MNA Political Organizer

As consumers, we have considerable power with where we choose to spend our dollars. Corporations and businesses respond to consumer demands and market trends by changing their product mix and how they deliver services to their customers. Here’s what we can do to ensure our hard-earned dollars support fairness and equality in the workplace.

For starters, we all gotta eat, but most of us don’t give much thought about which grocery store we support beyond their prices or product selection. As with most things in life, not all grocery stores are created equal when it comes to how they treat their workers.
… Read more about: Shopping with Our Hearts and Minds  »

On:
In: Activism, Credit Unions, Home, Labor Unions

By Cameron Fure

MNA Political Organizer

 

Since the election this last fall, many have been searching for ways to get involved in their local communities and play a bigger role in influencing change in our country. Some decisions may be made behind closed doors in the corridors of power of Saint Paul and Washington, DC, but we can fight back—with our pocketbooks. Where we spend our dollars matters, and companies notice when we patronize businesses we like and boycott those that exhibit questionable or unacceptable behavior.

Large financial institutions have reaped the benefits of doing business in our country by charging exorbitant overdraft fees and infinitely increasing fees when using out-of-network ATMs.
… Read more about: Fight Back with Your Friendly, Neighborhood Credit Union  »

On:
In: Allina, Home, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses

By Mathew Keller

MNA Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist

Allina’s final estimate of how much money it wasted on labor strife is in, with the health system pegging its total strike costs at 149 million dollars. As Allina employees know, however, this number is an underestimate. While the estimate includes the cost of shipping replacement nurses into Minnesota and paying them hourly rates that would make a cardiologist blush, and subtracts the costs Allina would have paid its trusted nurses were they not on strike– it does not account for the fact that Allina has been and will continue to pay eye-popping sums for replacement nurses well into 2017 due to the extreme level of nurse-turnover post-strike.
… Read more about: What can $149 million get you?  »

On:
In: Activism, Allina, Home, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nurses Strike

By Mathew Keller, RN JD
Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist

We’ve detailed at length the connections between Piper Jaffray and Allina. Piper Jaffray, as you recall, served as a broker/dealer to a 2007 “Auction Rate Security” bond offering that ultimately led Allina to sue. Allina claimed that the other broker-dealer (UBS) knew the Auction Rate Security market would fail mere months after the bond offering, but, interestingly, Allina did not make that claim against Piper. This transaction caused Allina to lose tens of millions of dollars in penalty interest rates, interest rate swaps, and early termination fees when it refinanced the bonds.
… Read more about: MNA Requests Meeting with US Bank in order to Save Allina Money  »