Amplatz Children’s Hospital nurses join MNA

The Minnesota Nurses Association announced Friday it will represent Amplatz nurses, according to the terms of an agreement the union reached with Fairview Health Services after a series of discussions between the two sides that began in the fall.

About one-third of the new hospital’s nurses will transfer to Amplatz from other, non-union facilities. 

Nurses at Amplatz will be covered by the union contract approved in July by MNA members who work at Fairview hospitals.

When it opens in March 2011, the Amplatz hospital will focus on pediatric and maternal services for its patients. A 227,000-square-foot facility, Amplatz is being touted as Minnesota’s first eco-friendly children’s hospital.

The agreement between Fairview and the MNA ensures Amplatz will be a union-friendly facility as well. And that’s good news for Amplatz patients, according to Jody Haggy, a nurse who worked with the MNA on crafting the agreement.

“Union nurses covered by MNA contracts are able to have an important and influential voice in patient-safety issues at their hospitals,” Haggy said. “I know the nurses at Amplatz will put that voice to good use.”

The agreement will add about 350 members to the MNA’s ranks.

“They’ve already started hiring new nurses for some positions,” MNA Director of Organizing Joni Ketter said. “With this agreement, both nurses that are already union plus those who are coming from the university and those new hires all will be covered under a union contract.”

The MNA represents more than 20,000 nurses across the state.

Michael Moore edits The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation. Learn more at www.stpaulunions.org

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