Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association rallied in the rotunda, then went out in teams to meet with members of the Republican-controlled Legislature.
“Now more than ever, it is so important to have your voices heard,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson told the hundreds gathered in the rotunda. “You are not just speaking for yourselves. You are speaking for the people who are not able to be here today . . . other nurses, patients and the middle class.”
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Nurses crowded the state Capitol rotunda for the MNA\'s annual Day on the Hill. |
Governor Mark Dayton, guest speaker at the rally, said his first act in taking office was to opt into Federal Medical Assistance funds that former Governor Tim Pawlenty had refused to accept. As a result, Tuesday marked the first day Minnesota began to receive $1.2 billion in federal money for hospitals and clinics that will provide health care for 95,000 Minnesotans unable to obtain coverage on their own.
Signing the measure was “the easiest decision I had to make,” Dayton said. He urged the nurses to continue their activism.
“Doctors are important,” the governor noted. “Nurses are essential.”
The Minnesota Nurses Association represents more than 700 nurses working throughout state government, including registered nurses working in the Minnesota Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, Veterans Affairs and the Department of Corrections. The union is opposed to cuts in the state workforce which Republicans are proposing to balance the state budget.
The MNA also has shown a spotlight on what it characterizes as abuses by HMOs, health maintenance organizations, which receive $3 billion a year in taxpayer funding – without competitive bidding or auditing, and with minimal reporting.
The battle raging in Wisconsin over Governor Scott Walker’s attack on worker rights and the middle class shows the stakes are high, MNA President Linda Hamilton said.
“What’s going on there is not an isolated event,” she said. “They [Republican lawmakers] want to funnel billions of dollars in tax cuts to corporations and the rich. And they want to take it away from us.”
Added Jean Ross, president of the National Nurses Union: “What is shared sacrifice? We’ve all shared the sacrifice at the bottom. There is nobody sacrificing at the top.”
For more information
Visit the MNA website
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Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association rallied in the rotunda, then went out in teams to meet with members of the Republican-controlled Legislature.
“Now more than ever, it is so important to have your voices heard,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson told the hundreds gathered in the rotunda. “You are not just speaking for yourselves. You are speaking for the people who are not able to be here today . . . other nurses, patients and the middle class.”
![]() |
Nurses crowded the state Capitol rotunda for the MNA\’s annual Day on the Hill. |
Governor Mark Dayton, guest speaker at the rally, said his first act in taking office was to opt into Federal Medical Assistance funds that former Governor Tim Pawlenty had refused to accept. As a result, Tuesday marked the first day Minnesota began to receive $1.2 billion in federal money for hospitals and clinics that will provide health care for 95,000 Minnesotans unable to obtain coverage on their own.
Signing the measure was “the easiest decision I had to make,” Dayton said. He urged the nurses to continue their activism.
“Doctors are important,” the governor noted. “Nurses are essential.”
The Minnesota Nurses Association represents more than 700 nurses working throughout state government, including registered nurses working in the Minnesota Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, Veterans Affairs and the Department of Corrections. The union is opposed to cuts in the state workforce which Republicans are proposing to balance the state budget.
The MNA also has shown a spotlight on what it characterizes as abuses by HMOs, health maintenance organizations, which receive $3 billion a year in taxpayer funding – without competitive bidding or auditing, and with minimal reporting.
The union also is backing state legislation that would mandate a minimum ratio of nurses to patients in hospitals – a key issue in last summer’s strike, which was the largest nurses’ walkout in U.S. history.
The battle raging in Wisconsin over Governor Scott Walker’s attack on worker rights and the middle class shows the stakes are high, MNA President Linda Hamilton said.
“What’s going on there is not an isolated event,” she said. “They [Republican lawmakers] want to funnel billions of dollars in tax cuts to corporations and the rich. And they want to take it away from us.”
Added Jean Ross, president of the National Nurses Union: “What is shared sacrifice? We’ve all shared the sacrifice at the bottom. There is nobody sacrificing at the top.”
For more information
Visit the MNA website