(Duluth, MN) – August 20, 2025 – The following is a statement released by Minnesota Nurses Association President Chris Rubesch, RN:
Nurses and healthcare workers at Essentia Health deserve a safe workplace where they can care for patients without fear of intimidation or retaliation. During MNA’s strike in July, clinic nurses and APPs on the picket line received threats from their direct supervisor at Essentia’s Superior and 3rd Street Urgent Care Clinics. He threatened to run them over with his car and shoot them with a paintball gun while they exercised their legal right to strike. Instead of holding the supervisor accountable, Essentia conducted a flawed investigation, ignored key witnesses, and has now reinstated the supervisor to oversee the very workers he threatened.
This decision sends a dangerous message: that Essentia does not take threats against employees seriously. No healthcare worker should ever be supervised by the very person who threatened their safety. No patient should ever wonder if their caregiver is working under intimidation.
Essentia claims to have a “Zero Tolerance” policy on workplace violence, yet it has chosen to ignore credible reports from multiple nurses and APPs. A policy without enforcement is no policy at all. Employees deserve to know that when threats are made against them, their employer will act swiftly to protect their safety.
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