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The bargaining committee has recommended that nurses reject a proposed contract offer with Allina Health after “the employer left the bargaining table and refused to talk further about important issues to reach an agreement,” the union said.
The contract for 5,000 nurses negotiating with Allina Health expired at midnight Tuesday. The Minnesota Nurses Association said its negotiating team made numerous offers in an effort to reach some agreement, but Allina Health negotiators responded with a “complete offer” and told nurses they would not continue to negotiate.
“Allina has shown they don’t care about the healthcare of the nurses who deliver the bedside care for their patients,” said Angela Becchetti, Registered Nurse at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
MNA nurses have been in negotiations with Allina since February, but the hospital corporation has refused to respond or work with nurses on several issues that could create a new contract, including nurses’ efforts to improve staffing and patient care, the union said.
Instead, the employer only offered proposals that would take away the contract healthcare plans for MNA nurses and move them to Allina corporate plans.
“The difference between our plans and the corporate plans is nurses would face huge out of pocket costs,” Becchetti said. “Nurses would have to pay anywhere from $4,000 to $12,000 for care for their families and another $1,000 for what they spend at the pharmacy. We can’t afford to take that kind of pay cut.”
Five of the six hospital chains in the Metro Twin Cities agreed on a new three-year contract with MNA nurses Jan. 14. Allina alone decided the company needed cuts to nurses’ healthcare plans.
Allina owns Abbott Northwestern Hospital/Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis, Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, United Hospital in St. Paul, and Unity Hospital in Fridley. More than 4,900 nurses are represented by MNA at those hospitals, but the contract affects a total of 5,800 nurses at Allina facilities from New Ulm to Owatonna to Buffalo, Minnesota.
The next step in negotiations is a vote June 6 by MNA nurses on Allina’s latest offer. If they reject it, nurses could also take a vote to strike at one or all of the Metro Allina hospitals.
More than 800 nurses attended an informational picket on May 18, to let the public know how a lack of nurses could affect patient care.
“They’ll either have to hire thousands of replacement nurses,” Becchetti said, “or they’ll have to shut down four of the biggest hospitals in the Twin Cities. Where will those patients go? Who will care for them? Allina needs to care about the patients too.”