MNA Nurses Endorse Melvin Carter for St. Paul Mayor (Page 21)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lauren Nielsen
(o) 651-414-2862
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org

Shannon Cunningham
(o) 651-414-2838
(c) 651-269-1418
shannon.cunningham@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – August 11, 2021 – The Board of Directors of the Minnesota Nurses Association is proud to announce the endorsement of Melvin Carter for St. Paul Mayor. The endorsement process included a candidate questionnaire and an interview with Carter by a local screening committee of nurse members who live and work in St. Paul. Those nurses made a recommendation to the nurse-elected MNA Board for the endorsement of Melvin Carter.

“Nurses are proud to stand strong with Melvin Carter for Mayor of St. Paul,” said MNA President Mary C. Turner, RN. “His continued commitment to supporting nurses’ and worker’s rights, and his determination to find more equitable public health solutions that will improve the lives of patients and the entire St. Paul community, shows he is on the side of nurses and families.”

Nurses will continue to screen candidates in Minneapolis and Duluth municipal races and move them through their screening and endorsement process. MNA will be announcing more endorsements in municipal races in the near future. All the candidate endorsements can be found here:  https://mnnurses.org/issues-advocacy/elections/mna-candidate-endorsements/ 

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In: Politics, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lauren Nielsen
(o) 651-414-2862
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org

Shannon Cunningham
(o) 651-414-2838
(c) 651-269-1418
shannon.cunningham@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – August 11, 2021 – The Board of Directors of the Minnesota Nurses Association is proud to announce the endorsement of Melvin Carter for St. Paul Mayor. The endorsement process included a candidate questionnaire and an interview with Carter by a local screening committee of nurse members who live and work in St. Paul. Those nurses made a recommendation to the nurse-elected MNA Board for the endorsement of Melvin Carter.
… Read more about: MNA Nurses Endorse Melvin Carter for St. Paul Mayor  »

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In: COVID-19, Uncategorized

By John Welsh, RN, MNA Health and Safety Committee member

This summer, the Biden Administration issued new workplace safety rules regarding COVID-19 that we believe give nurses important rights to protect themselves as the pandemic continues.

Notebook page with text OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration, on a table with a stethoscope and pen, medical concept.

While the COVID-19 vaccine and increased supply of Personal Protective Equipment have dramatically improved nurse safety compared to last year, COVID-19 remains dangerous, and healthcare workers remain vulnerable. These new rules are essential to hold employers accountable for worker safety.

Technically, what the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration did was determine that employee exposure to COVID-19 presents a grave danger to workers in healthcare settings and issued Emergency Temporary Standards to address the issue.
… Read more about: New OSHA COVID-19 rules give nurses important rights to protect themselves  »

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In: Press Releases

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.
… Read more about: MNA Nurses to Picket Allina WestHealth Over Contract  »

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In: COVID-19, Press Releases

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) – June 3, 2021 – On Wednesday, July 28th, at 11:15 a.m. in the Capitol Rotunda, essential workers – including nurses, janitors, food service workers, educators and other essential workers – will speak out ahead of the first public hearing on the $250 million Frontline Worker Pay Working Group.

Before heading in to testify at the hearing, speakers will share why this work is so critical to thousands of families and push legislators to ensure this money – a first step in working to honor the sacrifices frontline essential workers made this last year – is spent in a timely fashion, is easy for workers to access and reflects the sacrifices workers have made throughout the pandemic.
… Read more about: Essential Workers to Speak Out Ahead of First $250 Million Frontline Worker Pay Working Group Hearing  »

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In: COVID-19, EWELA, Press Releases

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

July 14, 2021 (St. Paul) – Frontline workers who sacrificed during the COVID-19 pandemic spoke out Wednesday on the need for speedy, fair compensation from a $250 million fund created by the Legislature and administered by a new, nine-member working group.

“The table is set, it’s time to dig in,” said Mary C. Turner, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association. “Lawmakers have been promising to care for essential, frontline workers. It’s time to make sure these funds go to back pay and fulfill the needs of those workers who had to sacrifice pay and benefits during the pandemic.”

The coalition of groups, including SEIU, MNA, Education Minnesota, We Make MN, AFSCME Council 65, Unidos MN, CTUL, the Awood Center, the AFL-CIO and others, pushed legislators to make sure this money is used in a way that begins the process of supporting the workers who gave so much this last year.
… Read more about: Minnesota Essential Workers React to Announcement of Working Group Members for $250 Million Fund  »

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In: Nurses, Nursing Accent, Racial Diversity Committee, Volunteer

The following article originally appeared in the Spring 2021 issue of the Minnesota Nursing Accent

It started 1,750 feet from where Jeanette Rupert grew up, and many of her family still lives today.
An MNA member and Registered Nurse, Jeanette had just gotten off the night shift on the morning of May 26, 2020, and was on her way to meet her brother to help a friend transition out of prison. When she arrived at her brother’s house, she learned that while she was taking care of patients at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, an event happened that would change her community and her life forever: the murder of George Floyd.
… Read more about: Nursing Accent Highlight: Turning tragedy to hope in one Minneapolis community  »

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In: Press Releases

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) – June 23, 2021 – Following reports that legislators reached an agreement to spend $250 million to support essential workers who stepped up and kept our state safe and running during COVID, workers who are pushing to make this a reality spoke out about the importance of this first step and the need to make sure that workers who were left behind get the support they so desperately deserve as soon as possible.
… Read more about: Essential Workers React to Report of $250 Million Deal to Support Minnesota Workers  »

On:
In: Activism, Essentia, Hospitals, Patient Safety

Late last year, nurses in North Dakota and northern Minnesota learned of a plan from Essentia Health to pursue acquisition talks with CHI/Common Spirit Health Care. The plan was for Essentia Health to acquire 14 facilities and take over management and services they provide to mainly rural communities across northern Minnesota and North Dakota.

From the start, MNA members were concerned about the implications this deal would have on patient care in many critical access facilities. Nurses were familiar with the past dealings of Essentia in Moose Lake, taking over the small community hospital and immediately shuttering services and sending patients to the system hub in Duluth.
… Read more about: Nurses celebrate a win as CHI/Essentia merger falls through  »

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In: Press Releases, Standards of Care

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

Nurses Fearful Patients Unable to Receive Care

(St. Paul) – June 3, 2021 – Nurse members of the Minnesota Nurses Association have filed a ten-day notice to picket outside Children’s Hospitals Minneapolis and Saint Paul campuses to fight for enough staffing and enough beds for pediatric patients.

MNA nurses have been meeting with Children’s management over several months since the corporation launched a downsizing of its Saint Paul hospital and a redesign for the Minneapolis campus.
… Read more about: Pediatric Nurses Will Picket Children’s Hospitals  »

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In: COVID-19, EWELA, Press Releases

Media Advisory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

​
Contact: Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Amber Smigiel
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org

Emergency COVID-19 Leave Bill Caught in Limbo in Legislature

(St. Paul) – May 27, 2021 – Essential workers feel left behind despite their hard work and sacrifice during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they’re demanding progress on the emergency leave bill they were promised.

Despite Emergency Leave (link) passing the Minnesota House, the legislation has stalled in the Senate.  Essential workers were told there were both state and federal dollars to help them recapture the lost time and wages they missed while being forced to quarantine or await test results.
… Read more about: Essential workers to lawmakers: ‘Don’t forget us’  »