Press Release: Nurses Come to a Contract Agreement with Allina Health

Unfair Labor Practice Strike Will End Today

For Immediate Release

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

Barbara Brady
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – October 11, 2016 – After a 17 hour negotiating session beginning at 11:00am on Monday, October 10, 2016, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) and Allina Health announced that they have reached a tentative agreement on all outstanding contract issues. The two groups came together with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to negotiate at the Governor’s Residence, at the request of Governor Dayton and Lt. Governor Smith.

The following is a statement from Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith:

“The two sides have successfully negotiated a tentative agreement. We thank the Minnesota Nurses Association and Allina Health for working to reach this tentative agreement, which will allow them to resume the quality health care that Minnesotans need and deserve.”

This tentative agreement will now be presented with unanimous endorsement to members of the Minnesota Nurses Association. Details of the tentative agreement will be available to MNA members, Allina Health employees, and the public beginning today, Tuesday, October 11, 2016. MNA will post details of the tentative agreement on their website and social media channels. Allina Health will simultaneously distribute details to their employees. Minnesota Nurses Association members are expected to vote on Thursday, October 13, 2016.

“The agreement is the result of an enormous amount of work,” said Rose Roach, MNA Executive Director.  “The nurses have shown remarkable strength and courage to earn improvements in workplace safety, nurse staffing policies, and multi-year contributions to accounts that will ease their transition from their contract health insurance plans to Allina core plans.  Nurses have cooperated with easing out of these plans and deserve to be protected through any future benefit reductions by Allina Health, which the company has provided.”

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58 Comments

  1. Next time you need to hire counsel to do the negotiating. The blunder before Labor Day sealed the loss of the health plans. To remain silent in face of offers is negotiating 101, silence is an old tactic to make your opponent uneasy and hopefully they will reveal more about their position. This entire strike was a failure and the top leadership needs to be fired

  2. Unless you are a nurse who stayed out on the picket line, your comments are meaningless to those of us who did. We are forever strong at MNA due to our leadership.

  3. Unimpressed. Not surprised. Maybe not bending over quite as far.

  4. Two very qualified RN’s I know have acquired work in their fields at other venues in the TC. A cut in pay yes. But not wanting to work with the few scabs or wadding into the vitoriol atmosphere that awaits them is justified indeed!

  5. Before negotiations started Allina has been talking down to the Nurses with a dismissive condesending tone. They have always spoke of the Nurses & the the Union as two separate entities . We all know brothers & sisters the Nurses are the Union! Just like the USA, if you don’t like MNA you can leave.

  6. The union has incompetent reps!!! Did a disservice to nurses. Who allows emotions to block negotiation; dumb dumbs! Nurses fire all your reps, they got high off the hog while you struggled on the streets!

  7. Houston , you obviously are not in MNA. The reps and negotiators for MNA nurses are not paid. Please educate yourself before saying something so ridiculous.

  8. Houston , you obviously are not in MNA. The reps and negotiators for MNA nurses are not paid. Please educate yourself before saying something so ridiculous.

  9. There is a monumental difference between being a nurse and negotiating a CBA versus practing law and doing it for a living not merely having a JD. As for the remark regarding unless I am a nurse. . . I Am entitled to my opinion and I will comment whether you agree or not. FYI I have family that walked the line and I made financial contributions. So stow the attitude. The fact is you got schooled and need to learn from it. If you cannot handle a dissenting opinion then the hospital is the right place for you. All a is not the only entity that will need to make reparations. The Union did not emerge stronger.

  10. I’m know they are not paid but Felhaber and Lsrson are that is rather the point. Some dues should be placed aside to hire counsel. But what do I know ,I have only been practicing for 20 years.

  11. Agree with JD. Unfortunate but true. Allina put us through all of this and MNA was weak up until the nurses had told them to buck up and negotiate a fair contract instead of crying at the negotiating table which they had indicated happened back in September. MNA isn’t as strong as it used to be, otherwise we wouldn’t be ultimately going to the lowly Allina plans. Clearly Allina can well afford MNA plans, they just spent tens of millions of dollars. MNA and Allina were schooled but in different ways. In the end they both learned nurses will not back down in the face of pressure. We have endured much during this time not only for ourselves but for other workers wanting above status quo insurance offered by their greedy employers.

  12. Why do you think that MNA called off the ULP Strike and revert to an economic strike so it forces nurses to accept the deal. Know the law and you will see they sold you all out to secure their sinecures.

  13. Yes they can be reinstated if the vote fails but why call them off until the vote?

  14. Thank you MNA negotiators for all your hard word and your blood, sweat and tears. I greatly appreciate it! Although the contract is not what most of us had hoped for after a month on the picket line, I am still thankful. Yours is not a pair of shoes I would like to stand in!

  15. Blood, sweat and tears? I would have gladly negotiated but they don’t like conservatives in MNA. Besides, they may have shed tears but they didn’t shed blood – this isn’t a military battle. It was a disappointment because they couldn’t have gotten anything better this negotiation because they sold us out in early September. Even if we voted this down we couldn’t rely on any abiilty from MNA to negotiate for us next time around. 2% raise and no ratification bonus. They said they wouldn’t accept one step back and here we are. Nicely done.

  16. Thanks to all Allina nurses who stood with MNA through it all. It is because of you that nursing will improve. We proved that we don’t work for paychecks only but something more than paychecks. I salute us all!!

  17. Does the health care plan allina wants the nurses to switch to qualify for a hsa they said they would contribute to ? Only plans with a high deductible quality. The plan allina uses in examples has a 300 deductible. and wouldn’t

  18. The “Allina First Plan” that Allina states is their most popular plan, does not qualify for a HSA contribution Allina says they will contribute to for nurses that transition to corporate health plans. Is there another form of compensation or account for nurses that choose the 1st plan? or must they choose the other plans with high deductibles that must be met before the insurance pays, in order to qualify for the transition compensation?

  19. The Allina nurses in MN aren’t being offered anything. 24 hour security in the ER has been the standard already in most hospitals, for the last 30 or more years. Allina wants to give cash bonuses instead of agreeing to keep the the low deductible health insurance that is currently in place. Cash bonuses are useless. They are a one time lump sum of $500 that can’t keep up with inflation whereas low cost health insurance does.

    “While Allina anticipates saving $10 million per year by phasing out the union health plans, it spent $20 million on temporary staffing to keep operating during the one-week strike in June. The costs of the current strike have far exceeded that.”…..Allina obviously has money to spend but not on its own nurses!

    This is not a reasonable offer to the striking nurses. It is an insult.

  20. You all are blaming Allina when Obamacare laws should be blamed. Most of you must’ve voted above mentioned in right? Also Allina most likely has strike insurance which has covered the cost of replacement nurses. So get your facts straight and think about it. Could consider a good hsa account like the rest of hospital workers all over the country has ?

  21. Obamacare or affordable health care has nothing to do with it. we need to cut middlemen in healthcare. Most of us ate in direct patient care.How many hundreds of staffs involved in administrating the health care? too many managers. cutting pay or removing working staffs will not help.affordable health care is the law of the land.it’s a right ,NOT privilege.

  22. MNA was an utter failure. We could have kept our same insurance but THEY SOLD US OUT. There’s no point in pondering anymore. The deals done thanks to the incompetents at MNA. What a waste of a strike.

  23. Have any of you read about the wonderful Governor Daytonappointing Penny Wheelers wife as a Suoreme Court Justice in January 2016. It happened and now for sure you can say cinflict if interest. I hope MNA called this out at the beginning of meeting with Mark Dayton. He had no business in this. I also hope all of my sister and brother MNA nurses think long and hard before voting on this one. With Penny Wheelers wife being in this position the nurses and MNA have very little power left.

  24. Unreal how quite this reply section has become since the union caved to the gov’s pressure. Nice that ALL those union dues were well spent. Think – between the amount of dues you hard working and deserving nurses paid plus the wages lost plus the benefits lost – you lost way more then the Union/Association or Corporation suffered. They will promote how much they fought, lobbied and made up signs and provided permits to picket, well we all see how much that did. THINK if the Union really filed merit worthy ULPs do you really think the NLRB, DOL and other Federal and State agencies would NOT react to them. Instead they just disappeared and became completely immaterial like they really never mattered. Remember they (the Union) employees still received their pay, insurance and peace of mind that their employ is still secure.

    Then Union works for you the Nurse _YOU PAY them every month, they the Union DO NOT work for YOU the NURSES. Somehow this has become a reversed roles in this state. Stand up and FIRE your UNION – HOW easy stop paying union dues just like A-lie-ing-eye stopped paying YOU.

  25. You really want to be a right to work for less state like Wisconsin? STFU and get involved.

  26. So it’s all about the money, hmm go figure, well enjoy your 2-2-2 and loss of health plans and now worry is your pension is next. You have less than 3 years to think about it WHATS in your UNION Wallet! No problem, will nurses now feel confident they will be fully represented when filing a grievance – will their rep feed them the same line you were fed this past week. Will they cave to management and send the nurse out the door.

    This has nothing to do with Unions but rather has everything to do with SERVICE – ask yourself did you really get what you have been paying for? if so then have a great day.

  27. It has everything to do with the Affordable Care Act. If you read all of the provisions, “Cadillac plans” must be phased out or companies face tremendous fines.
    From an outsider’s perspective, it doesn’t look like MNA did you much good…seems like you’re having to accept just about what you were offered in the first place…IMHO

  28. Completely agree that MNA failed the nurses who risked everything in the last 5-6 weeks! This was all coherced since day one, nurses are fighting for a battle that’s victor was already chosen! Penny Wheeler and her Dayton friends are an absolute conflict of interest and funny how Wheeler didn’t show face at a single negotiation before it was hosted by her buddies! And why would a governor who doesn’t work in healthcare attend negotiations he is irrelevant to this situation! This is a disgrace of how unions and healthcare should operate!! Nurses didn’t gain here, not one bit!!!

  29. When voting today ask yourself, am I voting for the right thing? Does this Union (MNA) truly have my back, if not then don’t hate what a union is about but rather the service you are receiving. Remember YOU the nurses are the true Union not the paid people determining what pill you have to swallow this time. YOU have complete control over your Union and can fire them are any time. Do the right and brave thing, NOW is really the time to fight for YOUR self and your fellow professionals.

    There are so many laws currently that protect you, do you really need an association that is willing to withdraw an ULP in order to settle a strike. It’s kind of like saying it really didn’t happen which is really lying, hmmm? Is this the type organizational leadership you trust, believe and will follow off the cliff?

  30. when you vote, recall that nothing is FREE, contrary to what you have been told. Read the local paper and our Governors stance on the ACA, it is not affordable. Then consider your increased demands and what they do to the cost of healthcare. Finally ask yourself, “why should I work less, get more, and not have to pay something for it?” If you cannot come to the conclusion that there is not free lunch, then you are part of the problem and not part of the solution

  31. I’m so happy to see dissent towards the Union. They failed the nurses and their families.

    If the leadership had any shred of integrity, they’d fall on their swords and step down from their positions. The leadership in that union is a joke.

    Wake up Nurses, you deserve better. You work too hard to let these two groups treat you like garbage. The Union and Allina both hold their own interests above the collective interests of the nurses and their families, and never has it been more evident.

  32. Has everyone seen the HUGE headline where Abbott Northwest has been found in violation of CFR 483.23 (Nursing Service) which covers such items like unlicensed nurses, shortage etc. Gee wonder why this was only released in today Star Tribune in the Public Notice Section.

    Now the Ole Gov and A-lie-ing-eye and MNA had no problem gathering front page and news headlines touting how hard they worked to save the day. HMMM wonder why this lil wonder of the world which TRULY EFFECT PATIENT CARE gets buried in the number 2 font section.

    Leaders face fear in the heat of confrontation, cowards run and hide behind their laptops. Some run towards the fire, i.e. nurse and some run home, i.e. Unions and corporations. How disrespectful to oneself to be a part of an organization in which nurses look up to you for support, guidance , and leadership. Take a hard long look in the mirror and ask yourself – am I a leader, well if I work for the union then I am by default because people believe in what I stand for. NOW ask your self did I just lead them all of that cliff, rather did I push them off.

  33. MNA sold you out. The top leadership needs to go. They just found out that Allina will no longer be reimbursed for Medicare or Medicaid starting October 30th. Something rotten is going on with this union. Both Mary Turner and Rose Roach need to be let go. They are not leaders but occupy sinecures and care only about their welfare, They had an army of nurses that fought hard and they and the weak negotiating team sold us out. Perhaps a non union hospital would be better if this is the kind of representation we will receive. They had the gall to order us not to talk negative about the union. MNA I am an American first. Why do we pay dues to such inept people?

  34. I think you guys should really consider resigning from the union. They accomplished nothing. A 2% raise every year for the past 9 years. They hold the line unless there is push back. They are incompetent at negotiating and Mary Turner is an utterly uninspiring leader. Nurses you are the union not these idiots in St Paul> demand change so you do not get burned again.

  35. Resign from the union or demand change. Mary Turner is an uninspiring leader and she was also quite arrogant. Rose Roach would make Benedict Arnold look courageous. The negotiating team is a bunch of flunky’s that have no business determining your future. Nurses should demand better, its your livilihood!

  36. Resign from the union or demand change. Mary Turner is an uninspiring leader and she was also quite arrogant. Rose Roach would make Benedict Arnold look courageous. The negotiating team is a bunch of flunky’s that have no business determining your future. Nurses should demand better, its your livilihood!

  37. sorry it would not let me post and then it double, Dan and Miles same person.

  38. Maybe they sold out or were bought off? How could they not have known about the Medcaid issue? They only responded after it was all over facebook. I think something very fishy is going on!

  39. Strike was not worth it. Should have returned to work to show the union they were not speaking for you if that’s how you feel. Instead nurses lost weeks & weeks of income and more importantly the respect from fellow employees. Welcome to the Allina core plans. You will soon learn they are great plans. All of the other items were addressed so enjoy your depleted back accounts. You deserve it.

  40. Thank, you for sticking up and fighting. People seem to not understand that Allina wanted to have the ability to change terms within a given contract frame. I learned that is the driving thing to break a collective voice. I learned that in policy and contracts when I got my MBA. Thank you and each and every person that put there emotional and financial sacrifice on the line.

  41. I’ve been on this plan. There have been minor changes year after year so this wasn’t a big win & certainly not worth losing weeks of work. Think of that as you struggle to find reasons to justify walking off the job & a huge loss of income. The staffing & safety concerns were resolved before the open ended strike so holding that up as the win & justification on the news tonight is laughable.

  42. It is a sad day to wake up and realized that you’ve been sold out
    We want to thank you for giving up your paycheck by going on strike our bank accounts increase greatly
    Thank you
    😉 😉 😉 😉

  43. sad day to wake up and realized that you’ve been sold out
    We want to thank you for giving up your paycheck by going on strike our bank accounts increase greatly
    Thank you
    😉 😉 😉 😉

  44. …… It is a sad day to wake up and realized that you’ve been sold out
    We want to thank you for giving up your paycheck by going on strike our bank accounts increase greatly
    Thank you
    😉 😉 😉 😉

  45. ah
    seen you again in 2019
    😉

  46. For all of you hater/dissenter/critics of the MNA union, where have you been your whole career? Have you ever volunteered to be a steward or volunteered to participate in ANY union actions/functions? Have you been a delegate to the annual convention AND attended? The convention is where the delegates determine the future of OUR union! Granted, the member leaders have a LARGE say-so in the happenings of the union SO……do you vote in the elections every 2 years? (soon to be 3 years)? Do you get to know the candidates and what they advocate for? Have you ever run for an office or committee or Board of Directors in MNA or even volunteered to participate in a committee or commission? Unless you can answer “Yes’ to at least 1 of these questions, you have NO RIGHT to be so critical. A UNION is made up of its MEMBERS! What kind of member are YOU????

  47. Hey CoJo you I have can’t hate the players, hate the game. It’s not about what others have or have not done this is your union. You wanted it so OWN it, if your are going to reap the bennies then reap to woes too, life isn’t a bowl of cherries. Basically you received EVERYTING you asked, lobbied, voted, begged, volunteered, and advocated for and then some. Maybe just maybe the other side isn’t so bad after all. No worry though I’m sure you will claim victory and return to work with your pride in tact, just hug it out and things will be OK.

  48. Also unless I’m mistaken the Union works for you – you don’t work for them. You actually work for A-lie-ing-eye.

  49. Nick Smith: Since when is voting for Union officers & Board members “work”? It’s obvious you have no clue as to how a union “works”. If you don’t like the way your Union is functioning, then you vote members into positions (such as the Board of Directors) who will lead the union in the way you want it to go. Do you vote in political elections for the people you think will run the govt the way you want? Is that “work”? The House of Delegates EVERY YEAR presents resolutions for what they want MNA to be & do. Contrary to what you want OUR members to think/believe, WE are the union’s “bosses” & determine its course. My point is: If you’re a member of MNA & want things to change, there’s a way to do that. If you’re a troll who for whatever insane reason wants to bust unions & make MN a RTW state or you’re a corporate TROLL, YOU don’t have a say or an audience here that even cares what BS you’re trying to spread. So, go hug it out with yourself & leave the complaining to those who know what they’re talking about & are willing to do what they feel needs to be done.

  50. Nick Smith: BTW, the “other side” happens to be where you have no voice or power in your profession & are just a slave to a job run by the corporate conglomerate who want to squeeze every drop of blood out of your hard work to save more to stuff in their pockets. That’s what you can “own”!

  51. For those of you critical of MNA’s CEO, Rose Roach, please remember that she is an EMPLOYEE of MNA and gets her directions/orders from the MNA President and Board of Directors (and with some boards, the executive Board plays a “bigger” role than other boards). So, remember that the next time you vote for MNA’s Board of Directors and their “officers” (the executive board).

  52. Wow the more we hear the more we realize the MNA is just like every other corporation – controlled by a Board of Directors. What the difference between this and the company nurses really work for; answer None.

    If any of you think that Members of the board MNA or staff have your best interest in mind you need a wake up call. As pointed out very cleared by the last post Rose Roach received her directions/orders from the Boards and NOT the Members of the Union, the hard working dues paying nurses.

    Stop paying your dues NOW, its clear the Board is taking your money and paying dirty pool.

  53. Nick Smith: The SMART thing to do is get to know your member leaders, your Board and the candidates for election to the Board and then VOTE to elect people who are TRULY going to represent YOU! Throwing out the baby with the bath water is NOT a good thing to do! Take charge and take control of YOUR union! Nick just wants to do away with ALL unions, apparently!

  54. And the difference, Nick Smith, between OUR union and the corporations we work for is we only have power and a say in our profession through our negotiated contract. Whereas, our union is run by members and elected member leaders. If you don’t like the way it is run, then run for office yourself or find somebody who will listen to you and run the association the way YOU want. And attend the convention as a delegate ONCE A YEAR and submit and vote on resolutions/proposals that make positive changes. THAT’S how a union works, Nick Smith (and how corporate healthcare does NOT work!).

  55. Well, you enjoy your new Alina Corporate Health Plans coming real soon, since your voted on union leaders sold out to the highest bidder.

    Did you not realize you lost your union plans during this last go a round. It’s ok though there another chance coming in less then 3 years.

  56. Why in the world would anybody gloat so blatantly to people he considers “losers”, Nick Smith? Either you are a sadist, a bitter unhappy person or you are an Allina management crony. Whatever the reason, you are an ugly troll who is not going to waste anymore of my time! (BTW: I am not an Allina employee & have 38 years experience as a nurse so it’s obvious to me & others that you don’t know your butt from a hole in the ground re: nursing & healthcare! LOL,)

  57. Can you please tell me the reasoning behind all the nurses calling in sick or coming in and leaving sick?

    That is not caring. You are effecting patient care, the ones that you say you care about.

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