Essentia-Health Sandstone nurses vote to authorize strike amid faltering contract negotiations

(Duluth) – January 30, 2025 – Last night Essentia Health-Sandstone nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) voted overwhelmingly to authorize an unfair labor practice strike if contract negotiations with the employer continue to stall.  Their contract expired on August 1, 2024, and, while they have been bargaining since July, nurses have made little progress with the employer on key issues like wages and staff retention.

Nurses at Sandstone have long been facing issues around staffing conditions, continually raising concerns about staff retention, nurses stepping away from the bedside, and now a cross-facility floating proposal from Essentia. The cross-floating proposal is particularly egregious as it would rotate nurses between facilities, dramatically altering their roles and responsibilities. These issues aggravate already strained nurse capacity and put patient care at risk. Furthermore, Essentia is offering Sandstone nurses significantly less in wages than nurses throughout the rest of the Essentia Health network, despite expecting Sandstone nurses to work side by side with their higher paid colleagues when they must float to other facilities.

“Our nurses work extremely hard to deliver high quality care to our community. We are only asking Essentia to treat us fairly and come to an agreement that will keep local union nurses at the bedside,” said Jon Bigay, RN.

Meanwhile, Essentia keeps prioritizing profits and multi-million-dollar executive salaries over fair wages for nurses and patient care. Essentia presses on with their refusal to negotiate with their East Market Advanced Practice Providers, and only recently came to an agreement with SEIU workers forced into a strike lasting 49 days. The strike vote empowers the negotiating team to call a ULP strike following a 10-day notice to the Hospital.  The parties are back at the negotiating table on February 10 where nurses will continue to bargain in good faith with hopes of reaching an agreement with Essentia.

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