Legislative Policy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lauren Bloomquist
© 651-376-9709
lauren.bloomquist@mnnurses.org

Nurse endorsements recognize current lawmakers and electoral candidates working to solve the crisis of understaffing and retention, hold corporate healthcare executives accountable and put patients before profits in our hospitals

(St. Paul) – September 24, 2024 – Nurses of the Minnesota Nurses Association today announced the endorsement of their final round of six candidates for the Minnesota House and one candidate for the Maplewood City Council races. These candidates are recognized for their various levels of leadership and partnership with nurses to make progress on issues important to nurses and patients.
… Read more about: Nurses announce final endorsements in 2024 Minnesota State House, Maplewood City Council races  »

By Jill Lebrun, RN, MNA Board of Directors 

On a gorgeous September Minnesota morning, I and other MNA board members went door-knocking in Hermantown, near Duluth. Our focus: Get Out The Vote (GOTV) for Mark Munger for State Representative, an advocate for quality healthcare. 

Mark Munger is a candidate in Minnesota House District 3B and is endorsed by MNA nurses through our screening process. We didn’t set out to change anyone’s minds…instead we knocked and used social pressure to get loyalists to the polls!  

As nurses, we believe in the power of lawmakers who will work with us to improve access to healthcare.
… Read more about: Electing Pro-Nurse, Pro-Union Candidates One Doorknock at a Time  »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amber Smigiel
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.orgLauren Bloomquist
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.bloomquist@mnnurses.org

Nurse endorsements recognize current lawmakers and electoral candidates working to solve the crisis of understaffing and retention, hold corporate healthcare executives accountable and put patients before profits in our hospitals

(St. Paul) – August 29, 2024 – Nurses of the Minnesota Nurses Association today announced the endorsement of their next round of 19 candidates for the Minnesota House, one candidate for Minnesota Senate and five County Commissioner races. These candidates are recognized for their various levels of leadership and partnership with nurses to make progress on issues important to nurses and patients.
… Read more about: Nurses announce 25 more endorsements in 2024 Minnesota State House, Senate and County Commissioner races  »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amber Smigiel
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org
Lauren Bloomquist
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.bloomquist@mnnurses.org

Nurse endorsements recognize current lawmakers and electoral candidates working to solve the crisis of understaffing and retention, hold corporate healthcare executives accountable and put patients before profits in our hospitals

(St. Paul) – July 29, 2024 – Nurses of the Minnesota Nurses Association today announced the endorsement of their next round of 29 endorsements for the Minnesota House. These candidates are recognized for their various levels of leadership and partnership with nurses to make progress on issues important to nurses and patients. 
… Read more about: Nurses announce 29 more endorsements in 2024 Minnesota State House races  »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amber Smigiel
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org

Lauren Bloomquist
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.bloomquist@mnnurses.org

 

Nurse endorsements recognize current lawmakers and electoral candidates working to solve the crisis of understaffing and retention, hold corporate healthcare executives accountable and put patients before profits in our hospitals

(St. Paul) – July 8, 2024—Nurses of the Minnesota Nurses Association today announced the endorsement of their latest round of 10 candidates for the Minnesota House. These candidates are recognized for their various levels of leadership and partnership with nurses to make progress on issues important to nurses and patients.
… Read more about: Nurses announce 10 new endorsements in 2024 Minnesota State House race  »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sam Fettig
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.orgLauren Bloomquist
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.bloomquist@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – May 24, 2024 – Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) today celebrated the passage of key priorities for patients and healthcare workers this legislative session that will help to put patient needs before corporate greed in our healthcare system. Despite the limited scope of this session, which saw many other proposals fall by the wayside, nurses organized and mobilized to press lawmakers on the need to take action on key healthcare issues this year.
… Read more about: Nurses celebrate wins for patients and healthcare workers as 2024 legislative session ends  »

MEDIA ADVISORY

 

Contact:

Sam Fettig, 612-741-0662 or Sam.Fettig@mnnurses.org

Chris Shields, 612-839-9359 or cshields@mnaflcio.org

 

On Thursday, April 11, 2024, healthcare workers and patient advocates from Minnesota AFL-CIO member unions will join together at the Minnesota State Capitol to push for passage of the HEAL (Healthcare Employee Anti-Retaliation and Labor) Act (H.F. 4200 / S.F. 4444), a bill that would provide critical protections for workers when they speak up as the last line of defense for safe patient care in our hospitals and other care settings.
… Read more about: Healthcare workers, patient advocates to assemble at State Capitol to push for protections for worker voices and safe patient care  »

By John Welsh, RN, Chair, MNA Governmental Affairs Commission

Getting help to nurses who have student debt remains a priority for MNA during the 2024 legislative session.

Graduation cap and Student loan forgiveness on page.

Last year, MNA nurses and staff were able to secure $10 million for loan forgiveness for hospital nurses, and we hope to double that amount during the current session, which will end by May 20.

There are no reliable statewide statistics on the debt held by nurses in Minnesota, but we know it is significant. When the state asked nurses in previous loan forgiveness programs how much debt they had, the average was $40,000.
… Read more about: Prioritizing RN Student Loan Forgiveness  »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sam Fettig
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.org

Lauren Bloomquist
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.bloomquist@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – March 26, 2024 – A new study released today by the Lown Institute, an independent healthcare think tank, finds that 90 percent of Minnesota nonprofit hospitals give back less to their communities than they receive in tax breaks, with Mayo Clinic singled out as among the worst offenders in the nation. This ranks Minnesota among the 10 worst states in the nation for the share of hospitals who avoid their obligations to communities, while states like Texas and Mississippi lead the nation.
… Read more about: Minnesota hospitals ranked among 10 worst in the nation for community spending  »

Planned closures of ICU, surgery services, and pediatric inpatient beds at Mercy Hospital and Unity Campus follow a pattern of corporate priorities by Allina executives   

MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: Sam Fettig
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.org

Lauren Bloomquist
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.bloomquist@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – March 25, 2024 – Tomorrow, nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) will join patients, community members, and other healthcare providers and workers to speak out on the devastating impacts of the planned corporate closures by Allina executives at Mercy Hospital and Unity Campus.
… Read more about: Nurses, other healthcare providers and workers, patients to testify in public hearing on impact of Allina corporate closures  »