Share
Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association, who conducted a one-week strike in late June, have rejected an offer from negotiators for Allina Health.
On Friday, nurses proposed improvements in staffing and a change to their own health insurance plans, but hospital negotiators refused all of them, the union said. ”Allina said they showed up to negotiate, but again they refused to say anything on staffing other than ‘no,'” said Angela Becchetti, Registered Nurse at Allina owned Abbott Northwestern Hospital. “They told us they will ‘never’ allow nurse-to-patient ratios to ensure patients have enough staff to care for them.”
Allina negotiators haven’t moved from their April proposal only promising to “collaboratively explore” acuity tools with nurses. Nurses countered with minimum ratios for each department that allow flexibility for hospital size and patient population, but that was rejected. Nurses also agreed to voluntarily eliminate one of their contract healthcare plans as of January 1, 2017 as well as a 4,3,3 percent wage raise, respectively, for each of the three years of the contract as a part of an overall settlement. Allina Health also rejected this proposal.
“The nurses’ negotiating team took a look at Allina’s June 27 proposal that still eliminates two of the four insurance plans after 2017 and the other two in 2018,” Becchetti said. “The fine print says that all cost increases on the remaining MNA plans would be on the backs of nurses. That’s really the same offer we received in May.”
Both sides did come to an agreement that nurses could use sick or vacation time in the event of a critical illness and also to compensate nurses with some advanced degrees. More than a half-dozen major items in the contract remain to be discussed and agreed upon.
Nurses have been bargaining on a new contract with Allina Health since February. The contract covers the benefits and wages for 4,800 nurses at Abbott Northwestern, Mercy, Phillips Eye Institute, United, and Unity hospitals. Nurses held a seven-day strike in June to protest Allina’s refusal to provide information nurses need to bargain over contract items. The previous contract expired on May 31.