FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shannon Cunningham
651-269-1418
Shannon.Cunningham@mnnurses.org
(Duluth, MN) – June 12, 2025 – Today, Minnesota nurses requested for a mediator to step in and help resolve contract negotiations with Essentia Health, following months of stonewalling and ongoing unfair labor practices that threaten patient safety. This rare step is to bring integrity back to the bargaining table. Nurses have also requested that Essentia withdraw all anti-union proposals put forth so far.
MNA’s request, delivered during the June 12 bargaining session today, reflects the union’s continued effort to reach a fair contract that prioritizes safe staffing levels and patient care. It is also a telling step, as Essentia is the only hospital out of the 13 MNA is bargaining with across the state where nurses believe a mediator is necessary to make progress. The number of anti-union proposals and egregious bad faith bargaining at Essentia underscore the urgent need for intervention.
“Nurses want to talk about safe staffing, but Essentia prevents constructive conversation by committing Unfair Labor Practices,” said Chris Rubesch, RN at Essentia and MNA President. “While executives use legal jargon to avoid their obligations, we’re trying to protect patients. The current approach is ineffective and is failing patients and nurses alike. We need a mediator.”
Nurses have also now agreed to a 10th bargaining date, in addition to a pre-scheduled session on June 25. This exceeds the pace of contract negotiations in 2022. Essentia fails to mention that of the 26 bargaining sessions in 2022, half of those took place after a strike happened. What nurses have not agreed to is a contract extension, which would only reward a system that has repeatedly engaged in illegal conduct, including retaliation, intimidation, and denying basic union rights inside hospital walls. A contract extension would not result in any real progress and is a legal tactic solely to prevent a potential strike.
Let’s also be clear: Essentia Health has not provided a single wage proposal, nor have they made serious attempts to discuss safe staffing. Instead, they’ve focused on blaming nurses for bargaining scheduling decisions and spinning procedural arguments to mask their inaction.
Essentia claims that MNA turned down 46 of 54 proposed bargaining dates. What they don’t recognize is MNA strategically chooses dates to give time to consult their 1,500 nurses in the Twin Ports. And for Essentia to just offer dates without presenting a genuine offer at the table is not bargaining, it’s just a line for the press. Nurses know the truth from the ground: whether we meet ten times or 100, Essentia is refusing to engage meaningfully with safe staffing concerns.
“We didn’t become nurses to play legal chess,” said Essentia-Duluth RN, Katie Murray. “We’re here to save lives. But Essentia’s refusal to address real workplace concerns is putting our patients at risk.”
Nurses are voting on whether to authorize a strike not because of any specific proposal, but because of a pattern of bad-faith behavior and escalating unfair labor practices that undermine both worker safety and patient care.
“No one wants a strike. But we’ve been pushed to the brink,” said Stacee Rosier, a Registered Nurse with Essentia-Duluth. “We’re retaliated against when we speak up, and our employer refuses to bargain in good faith over crucial staffing and safety issues. Our backs are against the wall.”
Nurses believe that fair contracts lead to safer hospitals, higher retention, lower healthcare costs, and fewer patient injuries. But that starts with good-faith bargaining, something that, so far, Essentia Health has refused to do.