Media Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org
Lauren Nielsen
(o) 651-414-2862
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org
(St. Paul) – July 29, 2021 – Nurse members of the Minnesota Nurses Association have filed a formal notice of their intent to hold an Informational Picket outside Allina’s WestHealth campus in Plymouth, Minn., on Tuesday, August 3.
MNA nurses have been negotiating a new contract with Allina for months, but Allina management has refused to provide the benefits nurses proposed to settle the labor contract. Instead of choosing to honor nurses for their dedication through the COVID-19 crisis and ensure that they can recruit and retain nurses, Allina has chosen to say no to these benefit proposals and has offered zero counter proposals for three negotiation sessions.
WestHealth nurses distributed more than 400 leaflets to the public in early July to inform the community of Allina’s refusal to negotiate a fair contract regarding the nurses’ terms and conditions of employment.
Sonya Worner, a Registered Nurse at WestHealth said, “WestHealth nursing staff stayed the course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, in its wake, Allina is refusing to make the necessary movement toward a fair contract. Allina admitted that it is not because they don’t have the money to fund the minor benefit increases we are asking for, but stated that our contract is ‘good enough.’ The public has treated us as heroes. Allina Health is now treating us as zeroes.”
The event is an Informational Picket only, not a work stoppage. No employees will be leaving their jobs that day. Patient care will continue during the picket times.
When: Tuesday, August 3, 6:00-11:00 a.m.
Where: 2855 Campus Dr, Plymouth, MN 55441
Who: Nurses of Allina WestHealth Emergency
Department/Urgent Care
What: Informational Picket
Why: To protest Allina’s failure to negotiate a fair
contract.
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