Dear fellow Minnesota Nurses Association members,
As nurses and healthcare workers we mourn any death in our community, and none less so than when it is one of our own – like Alex Pretti. Alex was an ICU RN who worked with veterans, a fellow Union member with AFGE (American Federation of Government Employees), a dog lover and biker. Like all of us, he cared deeply about his community and the safety of his neighbors and friends.
As nurses, we work side by side through long shifts, difficult moments, and shared commitments to care. Losing a member of our community is felt deeply by all of us. Like me, I know many of you are turning to each other for help and support. Grief can affect us in many ways, and there is no “right” way to process a loss.
Our strength as a union comes not only from bedside work but from our compassion and solidarity with one another. It is that solidarity that has driven some to call for a general strike to honor Alex’s death. Due to this country’s one-sided labor laws that constrain worker power, MNA cannot officially endorse a general strike while our contracts’ ‘no strike’ clauses are in effect. But as individuals, we are free to talk to one another and make our own individual choices about how to honor Alex.
Like any large and diverse organization, MNA members hold a wide range of views on complex issues, including immigration policy. These differences are real, and they matter – but they should never divide us or weaken the bonds that hold our Union together. What unites us is far stronger than what separates us: our dedication to safe patient care, fairness, dignity, and respect for everyone in our workplaces and communities. We care for people from every background, belief system, and life story. That same compassion must guide how we treat one another, especially when we disagree. Our strength as a union depends on our ability to stand together, even when our perspectives differ.
I know that MNA members and nurses everywhere will honor Alex’s memory by continuing to support each other and by upholding the values of care, dignity, and respect that define our profession.
We can do this together-
Chris Rubesch, RN, President of the Minnesota Nurses Association
