Healthcare workers at Essentia East Market Advanced Practice Providers to announce organizing, filing for union representation

(Duluth) – November 27, 2023 – Tomorrow, November 28, 2023, healthcare workers at Essentia East Market Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) will hold a press conference to announce organizing and filing for an election vote to be represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association.  The APPs filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board on November 27, and an election date has yet to be determined. 

 “I believe that unionizing will give us the collective voice to advocate for necessary changes in our working conditions so that we can bring our best selves to work each day, and for protection against policies that are harmful to staff and patient care. We want to provide excellent care, because patients are more than just numbers to us,” said Kelly Higgins, a Physician Associate at Essentia Health in Duluth. 

The Essentia East Market extends in Minnesota from Brainerd north to International Falls and Duluth and east to Ashland and Hayward in Wisconsin. Nurse practitioners, physician associates, nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists have been organizing for months. The group sees the need to unionize so they can address issues in their workplace, including better compensation, work/life balance, and patient loads. They feel they will be able to have more say in their practice and working conditions as members of the Minnesota Nurses Association.