Members of Hotel, Hospital, Restaurant and Tavern Employees Union Local 21, working at Albert Lea Medical Center, held a rally and march to show hospital administrators they are serious about their demands for equal wages and affordable health care.

Members of HERE Local 21 marched through downtown Albert Lea. Photo by Russell Hess

"The Mayo Health System is going to have to realize that Albert Lea will not accept its workers being treated as second class citizens," said Cathy Bronson, a dietary employee at ALMC. She and other workers participated in the rally and march in downtown Albert Lea March 23.

The two sides have been negotiating since September and their contract expired on November 30, 2000. In January, the group voted to authorize Local 21 to call a strike if necessary. The last negotiation took place on March 9 and the two sides remain far apart on wages and benefits.

The contract would cover nursing assistants and escorts as well as the dietary, housekeeping, laundry, utility, and material management departments.

A committee made up of workers from each department has been meeting to plan the union's strategy for settling the dispute. The strategy includes a comprehensive campaign involving visits with political, community and religious leaders, as well as leaflets to be distributed in the workplace and at busy Albert Lea locations. The goal of the plan is to educate the community about the issues. "We feel that once the community of Albert Lea knows what is at stake, they will support our position," said Dave Blanchard, business manager for Local 21.

ALMC is part of the Mayo Health System, but workers at ALMC receive less pay for doing the same jobs than workers at surrounding Mayo Health System facilities, the union said. They also pay more for their health insurance.

Photos by Russell Hess

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