Twin Ports nurses to announce picket as they seek new contracts that put patients before profits (Page 22)

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

Nurses are seeking fair contracts which will prioritize patient care at the bedside, not the bottom line of CEOs with million-dollar salaries and their corporate healthcare policies

Informational pickets will be held at Twin Ports hospitals operated by Essentia Health and St. Luke’s

(Duluth) – June 7, 2022 – This Thursday, as they prepare for another day of negotiations, Twin Ports nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association will hold a press conference to announce their intent to picket on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at hospitals operated by Essentia Health and St. Luke’s. The informational picket comes as 15,000 nurses in the Twin Ports and Twin Cities seek new contracts which will put patients and workers before profits in Minnesota hospitals.

“Despite the toll of COVID-19, nurses want to work the jobs we love. We are seeking contracts which will allow us to stay at the bedside and provide the care our patients deserve,” said Chris Rubesch, RN—Essentia Duluth, and MNA First Vice President. “Nurses are fed up with corporate healthcare which gives multi-million dollar salaries to CEOs who then close hospitals, cut staff, and charge patients more. We are ready to fight to put community healthcare before corporate profits.”

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 oppose corporate policies that are driving nurses away from the bedside.

“Right now, nurses are overworked, hospitals are understaffed, and patients are overcharged while our hospital administration cuts costs and executives make millions,” said Larissa Hubbartt, RN—St. Luke’s Duluth. “Twin Ports nurses care for, and care about, our community. It is time for our hospital executives to do the same and put patients and nurses before corporate healthcare policies and the bottom line.”

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. The corporate healthcare policies of Twin Ports hospital executives are also driving the systems to move more services to off-site surgical centers without MNA nurses and the complete care team and additional services that a full hospital can provide.

All the while, hospital CEOs have continued to make millions in executive compensation, including Essentia CEO David Herman, who received a $1 million raise from 2019 to 2020, bringing his annual salary to $2.4 million. Hospital CEOs with million-dollar salaries can afford to fix the crisis they created, to put patients and workers before profits in our hospitals.

Current contracts for Twin Ports nurses will expire on June 30, 2022. This informational picket is not a work stoppage; nurses will not be walking off the job to participate in the picket and hospital operations will not be affected by the action.

DETAILS: THURS, JUNE 9 – PRESS CONFERENCE TO ANNOUNCE INTENT TO PICKET  

  • When: Thursday, June 9, 2022, 8:30 a.m.
  • Where: Holiday Center, Superior Street Rotunda, 207 W Superior St, Duluth, MN  55802
  • Who: Twin Ports nurses bargaining for new contracts to put patients before profits
  • What: Media availability as nurses announce informational picket

DETAILS: TUES, JUNE 21 – TWIN PORTS NURSES INFORMATIONAL PICKET
Additional details on exact picket times and locations will be shared with members of the press closer to the day of the picket. Please direct questions to Sam.Fettig@mnnurses.org.

  • When: Tuesday, June 21, 2022
  • Where: Hospitals owned by Essentia Health and St. Luke’s
  • Who: Twin Ports 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

###

On:
In: Home, Informational Picket, Press Releases

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

Nurses are seeking fair contracts which will prioritize patient care at the bedside, not the bottom line of CEOs with million-dollar salaries and their corporate healthcare policies

Informational pickets will be held at Twin Ports hospitals operated by Essentia Health and St. Luke’s

(Duluth) – June 7, 2022 – This Thursday, as they prepare for another day of negotiations, Twin Ports nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association will hold a press conference to announce their intent to picket on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at hospitals operated by Essentia Health and St.
… Read more about: Twin Ports nurses to announce picket as they seek new contracts that put patients before profits  »

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In: Home

The following is a statement from Chris Rubesch, Minnesota Nurses Association First Vice President and RN at Essentia in Duluth, on the passing of Duluth City Council President Renee Van Nett:

Our nurse family is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Duluth City Councilor Renee Van Nett. As a powerful advocate for Duluth and the region, Van Nett improved the lives of countless people, including many of our members and patients. In her time as President of the Duluth City Council, she was a bold leader who always stood with nurses, healthcare workers, and other laborers. We offer our condolences to her family and loved ones and join those who are mourning her passing.
… Read more about: Statement on the passing of Renee Van Nett  »

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In: Home, Informational Picket, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Nurses are seeking fair contracts which will prioritize patient care at the bedside, not the bottom line of CEOs with million-dollar salaries and their corporate healthcare policies Nurses launch new advertising campaign calling on hospital CEOs to put patient care before profits

(St. Paul) – June 1, 2022 – Thousands of nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association held an informational picket at eleven Twin Cities hospitals today, 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.
… Read more about: Nurses picket Twin Cities hospitals as 15,000 seek new contracts that put patients before profits  »

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In: Bargaining, Home, Informational Picket

It’s time to show your MNA member pride on social media and get your friends, family and community to show their support during your negotiations, picketing on June 1 and beyond!

Social Media Profile Picture  

Use this graphic as your profile picture on Facebook and Twitter and as a post on Instagram. Then encourage your followers to use it as their profile and share on Instagram too! 

Step 1: Right-click the image and choose “Save Link As” 

Step 2: Follow these instructions to change your Facebook profile picture and these instructions to change your Twitter profile picture  

Step 3: Share the image on your social media profile and encourage your followers to change their profile pictures (see below for sample copy) 

Step 4: Tag MNA in your posts Twitter @MNNurses Instagram @MinnesotaNurses Facebook @MinnesotaNurses    

Sample Social Media Copy 

Stand with nurses!
… Read more about: Tell Minnesotans: Stand with Nurses!  »

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In: Elections, Home, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Candidates pledge to support Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act, put patients and healthcare workers before profits

(St. Paul) – May 24, 2020 – Nurses of the Minnesota Nurses Association today announced six new endorsements for the 2022 election cycle for candidates in open races for the Minnesota Legislature. These endorsements follow the first four announced by MNA in April, and are based on screening interviews and recommendations of member nurses based on candidates’ pledged support for MNA priority issues.
… Read more about: MNA Nurses Announce Six Endorsements for 2022 Election  »

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In: Action, Home, Informational Picket, Press Releases

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.
… Read more about: Nurses to picket Twin Cities hospitals as 15,000 nurses seek new contracts that put patients before profits  »

On:
In: Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sam Fettig
612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.org

Roberta Heine
202-251-7070
rheine@mape.org

Ashley Erickson
507-450-5511
aerickson@mape.org

Thousands of employees served on frontlines throughout the pandemic

St. Paul – May 12, 2022 – State government workers have worked tirelessly to keep Minnesotans safe and state government running throughout the pandemic, often at great personal risk to themselves and their families. Four employees shared their stories and called on the Senate to approve their labor contracts. The workers are represented by IFO, MAPE, MNA and Teamsters

Every two years, state government employees’ contracts come before the Minnesota House and Senate for approval.
… Read more about: State government employees call on Senate to approve their contracts  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Children's Hospital, Home, Nursing

Nurses and support staff are not cogs on a wheel. We are the engine that drives the car, and a car without an engine is worthless. A CEO and management team who do not understand this fact will undervalue the very thing that drives the success of their organization. 

The future of this hospital matters. For so many years it has been a point of pride to be a Children’s employee, but lately it seems the “business of healthcare” has reached the corporate point of no return. We now seem to be a business first and a hospital second.
… Read more about: It’s Nurses Week and I challenge Children’s Leadership to BE AMAZING!   »

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In: Activism, Education, Healthcare, Nurse education

Do you care about children? 

Then I ask you: What could be more life altering than living through the trauma of having your sexuality, your sexual intimacy, your sexual privacy traded, bought or sold? What could be more dehumanizing than walking through the world experiencing this and thinking that no one sees you, no one cares enough to try to stop sexual harm from happening to you?  

Children in the upper Midwest are living in this reality. We encounter these children in our healthcare facilities. They are being traded, bought and sold. According to the office of the Minnesota Attorney General:  

Minneapolis is one of the top locations in the U.S.
… Read more about: Online Education Opportunity: Identifying and Responding to Signs of Sexual Exploitation: A Training for Nurses   »

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In: Home, Issues, Nurse Staffing, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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 11, 2022 – Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) today shared the results of an annual report on Concern for Safe Staffing (CFSS) forms which paint a bleak picture of the crisis of understaffing by hospital executives in Minnesota healthcare facilities. The report documents an explosive 300 percent growth in CFSS forms filed since 2014, up to a total of 7,857 in the last year.
… Read more about: New report details crisis of understaffing for nurses and patients in Minnesota hospitals  »