FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sam Fettig
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.org
Lauren Nielsen
(o) 651-414-2862
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org
(St. Paul) – January 19, 2022 – This week, 672 nurse members of the Minnesota Nurses Association filed a petition with hospital management at six Mayo Clinic facilities, demanding action to curtail the worsening staffing crisis and recognize nurses’ sacrifices throughout the pandemic.
“Nurses continue to work under extremely difficult circumstances to care for our patients while Mayo CEOs make millions off our hard work,” said Kelly Rosevold, RN at Mayo Clinic Health System – Mankato. “As nurses continue to face down a pandemic, a work environment that feels unsafe, and unresponsive management, these demands will help to sustain nurses who are providing quality patient care at the bedside.”
The petition drew signatures from more than 70 percent of all MNA members at the six facilities located in Albert Lea, Austin, Fairmont, Lake City, Mankato and Red Wing. Nurses’ demands are focused on retaining workers and call for the following:
- Wage Fairness: To ensure fair wages are paid to both local and travel nurses, Mayo MNA nurses are asking to be paid triple time for all hours worked while travel nurses are being utilized.
- Retention Bonuses: To honor the sacrifice of nurses who continue to work through the current hospital crisis, Mayo MNA nurses are calling for a $4000 bonus to be paid for every three months that nurses remain on the job.
Throughout the state, Minnesota nurses are overworked, hospitals are understaffed, and patients are overcharged by hospital executives trying to boost their bottom lines. Minnesota nurses are quitting at a record rate because of the terrible conditions hospital executives have created by putting profits before patient care. MNA nurses are fighting to make changes to fix the under-staffing crisis and improve the quality-of-care patients receive at Minnesota hospitals. Hospital CEOs with million-dollar paychecks can afford to make these changes for nurses and patients at the bedside.
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There are rats, dirty rats, rat bastards, and at the bottom of the heap 90+% of all medical facility administrators. I would say shame on you to the last category listed above but it wouldn’t fase them. I was an RN for 35 years, many of those as a traveler,agency nurse with zero loyalty to any organization that I worked for. A message to today’s nurses would be to do the same. TAKE CARE OF YOUR PATIENTS and to heck with the institutions that you work for.
Amen!
The more I think I know the more I have realized the less I know. But I do know this, the principals, values and fundamentals of what our profession was founded on no longer stands true within these organizations. What we are taught within our education varies immensely from the way our system operates and treats us. It’s fraudulent and this started prior to the pandemic. Most of us went into healthcare to be part of something bigger than ourselves. For humanity. We are losing our desire to serve because we are no longer able to provide good quality, empathic or compassionate care and we are being morally injured by the corrupt nature of our system. We are being treated like military members with no regard for our safety or the patients safety. Healthcare professionals are now facing another pandemic in regards to our own mental health and the mental health of the public. United we stand, divided we fall. May god be with us all.
It’s past time for Mayo Rochester to join the Union. Moral is so low in Rochester, nurses are tripping over it. Admin just announced our raise this year and it’s pathetic. It’s a pay cut. Great nurses are leaving left and right. The new grads talk about traveling constantly.
Edward — Agreed!! But I think a lot of Rochester nurses are afraid of backlash, retaliation, and losing their job for even mentioning or considering the union.