Duluth Bargaining - SMDC Update (June 30) (Page 122)

Today was our fifth negotiation meeting with management of SMDC. Our current contract expires at midnight. Management continued with their theme of NO!

Three main things happened today:
1.No progress, measured by…
2.No responses to our staffing proposal
3.No economic proposal. (Note: The MNA economic proposal includes fair wage increases, fair pension contributions and health insurance.)

Kelly Hoenig, RN

“I am sad and depressed that such a beautiful Duluth day was wasted in negotiations as no forward progress was made today.  Management has been absolutely non-responsive and it appears they are stalling to see what happens in the Metro Area.  At out last meeting we informed Management that today we would have the Economic Proposal as our primary topic.  Feeling confident that this would be tackled today, the Negotiation team shared this news with our Member Body.  Sadly, SMDC’s Jerry Zanko responded, ‘We have not got a final economics for today.’  Actually, Our Employer had no (zero) proposals prepared for today.  This is worrisome as today is the day our contract expires.  We now have only 3 more bargaining days left.  Jerry assured us they will have an economic proposal next session (Tuesday July 20th). But later he ended the day saying, ‘Don’t be surprised if we aren’t able to talk about the exchanged language, people are going to be gone.’ (Referring to our upcoming session Tuesday July 20th.) Management will be taking time off in July instead of bargaining with us! The only economic language put across so far by Management has been to increase our number of Mandatory Days Off from two to four.  We, as the bargaining team, find this frustrating and disappointing.  MNA has been doing all the work while Management asks for the results of our labor.  At our first negotiation session May 6th we put across our request for information, as of today we have not received all of this information.  This is concerning as there are only three negotiation sessions left before our goal date for completing contract negotiations.” – Kelly Hoenig, RN, Surgery, SMDC

Stay tuned for our next steps. We need to show them how serious we are!

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In: Duluth Bargaining

Today was our fifth negotiation meeting with management of SMDC. Our current contract expires at midnight. Management continued with their theme of NO!

Three main things happened today:
1.No progress, measured by…
2.No responses to our staffing proposal
3.No economic proposal. (Note: The MNA economic proposal includes fair wage increases, fair pension contributions and health insurance.)

“I am sad and depressed that such a beautiful Duluth day was wasted in negotiations as no forward progress was made today.  Management has been absolutely non-responsive and it appears they are stalling to see what happens in the Metro Area.  At out last meeting we informed Management that today we would have the Economic Proposal as our primary topic.  
… Read more about: Duluth Bargaining – SMDC Update (June 30)  »

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In: Duluth Bargaining

I live and work in northern Minnesota, Duluth to be specific.   I can appreciate the occasional grand snow storm, one in which limited nurses and other staff is able to get to the hospital to work.  We call those days “snow days” and only the basics are truly expected to be done with the limited staff available.  The patients seem to recognize the hardship and in part take in the experience with understanding.

However… when the majority of shifts we work feels like a “snow day” and it has become more of the norm to run like crazy all shift and consistently not have enough staff to care for the patients, we are teetering on a disaster waiting to happen.  
… Read more about: My Story: Renee Ebel, RN  »

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In: Labor Unions, Nurses Strike

You Can’t Care for Patients with Bayonets: Lessons From History

As the contract impasse between the Twin Cities Hospitals (TCH) and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) has heated up, journalists, commentators, and interested bystanders have looked increasingly to history for insights and lessons.  The participation of more than 12,000 nurses in the one-day strike of June 10 was widely described as the “largest” nurses’ strike in American history.  As the nurses voted on June 18 to authorize a second, open-ended strike, the search for historical references expanded.  In revisiting the Minneapolis Teamsters’ strike of 1934 and the Hormel strike of 1985-86, journalist Betsy Sundquist (“Possibility of Nurse Strike Recalls Old Confrontations,” FINANCE AND COMMERCE, June 18, 2010) invoked the shibboleth of the National Guard in asking whether Governor Pawlenty might order their intervention in a prolonged nurses’ strike. 
… Read more about: Guest Post: Labor Expert Peter Rachleff  »

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In: Bargaining, Nurses Strike

Statement from the Minnesota Nurses Association:
Despite MNA nurses significantly modifying their staffing and wage proposals, there was little progress made in today’s negotiations with the Twin Cities Hospitals. In regards to staffing, MNA removed several components of our proposal that the hospitals felt were too rigid, while at the same time maintaining a maximum patient assignment for each nurse based on the individual needs and acuity (how sick a particular patient is) of each patient assigned to a particular nurse.

MNA also lowered its wage proposal to 3 percent for each year of the contract, which is the same as the 3 percent raise Regions Hospital gave its nurses earlier this month.
… Read more about: June 29 Bargaining Update  »