Nurses to picket Twin Cities hospitals as 15,000 nurses seek new contracts that put patients before profits

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MEDIA ADVISORY

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) – May 19, 2022 – Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association today announced their intent to hold an informational picket at eleven Twin Cities hospitals on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, as 15,000 nurses in the Twin Cities and Twin Ports seek new contracts which will put patients and workers before profits in Minnesota hospitals. Nurses will hold a media availability at MNA offices this Saturday, May 21, 2022, as they make signs in preparation for the picket. Members of the press are invited to attend this event – additional details are included below.

“Our healthcare system is in critical condition. Hospital executives with million-dollar salaries have created a staffing and retention crisis which is pushing nurses away from the bedside,” said Mary C. Turner, RN, President of the Minnesota Nurses Association. “The future of our healthcare system depends on the choices we make now. Nurses are ready to fight and win for our patients and our practice. I hope the public will stand with us in our fight to put patients before profits in our hospitals.”

Right now, nurses are overworked, hospitals are understaffed, and patients are overcharged by hospital CEOs making millions. As they negotiate new contracts, nurses are seeking solutions to the crisis in our hospitals which will put patients before profits. Along with fair compensation for sacrifices made during the pandemic and for the rising cost of living, nurses aim to solve the crisis of understaffing and retention; to better prepare for the next pandemic; and to prioritize diversity and inclusion within Minnesota healthcare systems.

The crisis of understaffing and retention in Minnesota hospitals has been going on for years, as CEOs cut nurses and cut expenses even while costs increased for Minnesota patients. All the while, hospital CEOs have continued to make millions in executive compensation. Hospital CEOs with million-dollar salaries can afford to fix the crisis they created, to put patients and workers before profits in our hospitals.

Currently, 15,000 nurses in the Twin Cities and Twin Ports are bargaining for new contracts. Current contracts for nurses in the Twin Cities will expire on May 31, 2022, the day before the informational picket; contracts for Twin Ports nurses will expire on June 30, 2022.

This informational picket is not a work stoppage, and hospital operations will not be affected by the action. Picketing nurses will encourage the public to join them to call on hospital CEOs to put patients before profits and to approve fair contracts that address the critical issues workers and patients face in our hospitals.

DETAILS: SAT, MAY 21 – PICKET SIGN MAKING AT MNA OFFICES

  • When:         Saturday, May 21, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
  • Where:        Minnesota Nurses Association, 345 Randolph Avenue, Suite 200, St. Paul, MN 55102
  • Who:            Minnesota nurses bargaining for new contracts to put patients before profits
  • What:           Media availability as nurses prepare signs ahead of informational picket
  • Why:             To prepare for an informational picket of Twin Cities hospitals

DETAILS: WED, JUNE 1 – METRO-WIDE INFORMATIONAL PICKET
Nurses at eleven different hospitals throughout the Twin Cities metro area will be holding informational pickets at different times throughout the day on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. To make plans to visit nurses on the picket line, please contact Sam.Fettig@mnnurses.org to confirm times and locations.  

  • When:          Wednesday, June 1, 2022, 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (see note above on timing)
  • Where:        Hospitals owned by Allina Health, M Health Fairview, Children’s Hospitals, North Memorial and HealthPartners throughout the Twin Cities
  • Who:            Minnesota nurses bargaining for new contracts
  • What:           Informational picket to encourage the public to stand with nurses
  • Why:             To call on CEOs to put patients before profits and to approve fair contracts for nurses

1 Comment

  1. As a senior working 40-60 hours/week I support the strike. Drug companies reported record profits last year! Health care in the US is being destroyed by corporate and stock holder greed.
    —No reporting about how health care workers are forced to use earned PTO when out with Covid before they can use earned Sick time -even a MAYO!! Horrible way to treat the people who wirked the very front of the line against Covid!
    —If you are a senior working in Minnesota and are unemployed 50 percent of your unemployment is taken away —horrible!! We couldn’t control COVID’s impact at the beginning. Minnesota has a huge amount of money -some is this taken money that should be returned to
    Real essential employees!

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