Organizing (Page 2)

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  »

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In: Elections, Governor, Home, Organizing, Politics

By Katie Gjertson

MNA Political Coordinator

Anyone who spent any time at the Minnesota State Fair quickly realized that candidates have launched their political campaigns for governor. Campaign teams were gathered around the candidates, and everyone talked in animated conversation. Colorful signs with logos and slogans outlining the candidate’s positions were around every corner. This one is a pretty big deal for Minnesota, and this election will determine our collective destiny.

 

No matter our differences as Minnesotans, we all want pretty similar things: respect and dignity at work; access to quality, affordable health care when we need it; to be able to provide for our families; to supply our kids with shoes and everything they need for a school year; to be safe in our communities and to arrive safely at work or school; to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables; to be able to take the time off work when we or a loved one is sick; clean water, clean air, and clean lakes; to afford the occasional vacation; and to be able to retire with dignity.
… Read more about: What Kind of Minnesota Do We Want to Live In?  »

Peoples Summit

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In: Bernie Sanders, Home, Legislative Policy, Organizing, Politics

By Katie Gjertson

MNA Political Coordinator

This past June 9 – 11, more than 4,000 of my closest friends and strongest allies (nurses, community members, Bernie supporters, environmentalists, activists, and big-name speakers) got together to collaborate, plan, share ideas and strategies, and generally be inspired by one another. Here are my top ten favorite moments from the People’s Summit in Chicago that will maybe inspire more to come next year!

  1. Former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner. Wow! Nina Turner is my hero! Nina had several speaking opportunities on stage, but, hands-down, the highlight was her Sunday morning talk titled, “Wake-up for Justice.” Nina, in a dress and tennis shoes, worked the crowd, roaming up and down the aisles as she talked about the movement moment we are in while drawing connections to the American Revolution and the Civil Rights movement.

    2. … Read more about: Top Ten Highlights from the People’s Summit in Chicago  »

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In: Minnesota Nurses Association, Organizing

coct 9 group

 

 

 

 

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Nurses at Sanford Bemidji Clinic are now part of the Minnesota Nurses Association, after a five-month campaign to be part of the union.

The nurses knew the value of belonging to a union, and campaigned hard for representation. They wore “Union Now” stickers and marched a petition to management  to show they were standing strong for union representation and a voice in the workplace.

Nurses at the Sanford  Bemidji Medical Center, who are already MNA members, circulated petitions expressing their support of clinic nurses becoming part of their bargaining unit.
… Read more about: MNA welcomes Bemidji Clinic nurses  »

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In: Minnesota Nurses Association, Organizing

About one-tenth of the population of a northern Minnesota town now belongs to MNA.

Nearly 100 employees at LakeWood Health Center in Baudette  (population 1,080) voted last week in favor of contract representation by the MNA.

The successful vote was the result of a determined effort by workers who wanted to advocate more strongly for patients and employees. The new bargaining unit will represent most non-management employees.

“We kept having more duties and more work to do as they outsourced and cut,” said RN Bonnie Harness. “We were really upset. LakeWood needed to work with us but they didn’t want to.”

A group of LakeWood employees contacted MNA in January and the campaign to organize began.
… Read more about: MNA Welcomes New Members in Baudette  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Organizing, Sanford

Nurses flex collective muscle with three ratifications, two tentative agreements within five days

Celebratory emails were lighting up MNA inboxes for five straight days as announcement after announcement arrived of contract victories all over the state.
146 nurses at Mayo Clinic Health Systems in Austin, MN started the buzz with a contract ratification on Wed., May 28. 114 Mayo colleagues 40 miles away approved their agreement just one day later. On Monday, it was 287 nurses at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center in northwest Minnesota who ratified their contract.
The run continued on Tuesday, with two notices of tentative agreements.
… Read more about: Monster Week for Nurse Contracts Across Minnesota  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Organizing

Imagine everyone in your town wanting to let you know you are awesome. MNA nurses in International Falls don’t have to dream.

Eight months into negotiating a contract with management at Rainy Lake Medical Center (RLMC), the 27-member bargaining unit is literally seeing signs of support throughout this picturesque city that shares a border with Canada.

Over 100 signs, sporting the message “We Support Our Nurses” are being posted in shop windows; hoisted high by firefighters, paramedics and EMTs; cradled by senior apartment residents; and displayed on bulletin boards throughout the city’s commercial districts. It’s a message warmly given from the town often referred to as “America’s Icebox.”  In addition, members of several other unions in the area have signed petitions of solidarity for the nurses.
… Read more about: Signs of Support for IFalls Nurses Line the Streets  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Legislative Policy, Minimum Wage, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Organizing, Politics

MNA-with-Sen.-BakkNurses Day on the Hill 2014

Nurses had a great and productive day on March 11 visiting the Capitol and their respective representatives and senators.  Hundreds of nurses came out to educate lawmakers and without a specific bill to push in this short session, representatives and senators were happy just to have an education where they could learn about healthcare policy and the practice of nursing.  Nurses brought many issues to lawmakers’ attention for the first time, which they said they appreciated.  See below.

Health Care Professionals and Monitoring

There are now two bills moving through the Minnesota legislature.  SF 1890 passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week and is now headed for a committee hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee next Tuesday at noon. 
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, March 14, 2014  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Organizing

Sandstone SignThey are a gritty bunch in this rural northern Minnesota hospital. The 25 nurses of Essentia Health – Sandstone ran a vigorous organizing campaign and successfully won MNA representation in Dec., 2012. Since then, first-time contract negotiations have tested endurance and patience. Now, after 11 months and 22 sessions, the new MNA unit is fortifying its resolve even more over a management proposal to include a Management Rights clause.

The insidious paragraph is so vague, it creates a management perception that wholesale changes can be made on a whim. “We can’t possibly think of everything that might come up during the term of the contract and this language would allow them to think they could arbitrarily change something, and we’d have no chance to bargain,” said MNA nurse negotiator Tara Mach.
… Read more about: Sandstone Nurses Stand Strong Against Management’s Rights Clause  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Organizing, Sanford

Bemidji-soupBemidji nurses served up chicken soup Sun., Mar. 9 in front of the town’s iconic Paul Bunyan statue to highlight the dangers of a sick policy imposed by Sanford Bemidji Hospital management.

Nurses face discipline if they use more than three sick days in a row or 40 hours of sick time within a year.  The “sick in” helped warn  community members that the attendance policy could force nurses to be compromised when giving care.  If nurses must work while sick, it could impact recovery if one is hospitalized.

The nurses served chicken noodle soup to all nurses and residents who come by. 
… Read more about: Bemidji Nurses Say Sanford Sick Policy is a Bad Remedy  »