Nurses approved a contract Thursday to return to work at five Allina Health hospitals in the Twin Cities, concluding a contentious, nine-month negotiation in which they voted down four prior contract proposals and went on two strikes for a combined 44 days.
The Minnesota Nurses Association says its strike against Allina Health will end Tuesday. Allina and the striking nurses reached a tentative agreement on a contract early Tuesday following nearly 17 hours of negotiations. Both sides were brought together by Gov. Mark Dayton at his residence.
Allina Health hospital nurses voted Monday night to reject a contract offer from their employer, increasing the likelihood that their walkout over health benefits, staffing and safety concerns will go down as the longest nursing strike in Minnesota history. While the Minnesota Nurses Association had not recommended a "no" vote, many nurses said they felt Allina's latest offer was too similar to one they rejected in August, and to the terms their union negotiators rejected during last-ditch negotiations in September to avert a strike.
The union leading a strike against five Allina Health hospitals is changing how it will tally votes Monday night when more than 4,000 nurses decide whether to accept a three-year contract and return to work. Results will be counted in aggregate for nurses at all five striking hospitals, rather than letting each hospital vote the contract up or down individually.
Negotiators for Allina Health and the nurses union were set to resume contract talks Tuesday—three weeks after more than 4,000 hospital nurses went on strike over health benefits. A federal mediator called negotiators back to the bargaining table last week, but that doesn't mean the two sides are ready to cut a deal.
Allina Health and its nurses have been called back to the bargaining table by a federal mediator. Thousands of nurses at five hospitals went on strike Sept. 5 after negotiations on a three-year contract broke off earlier this month. The contract expired June 1. Both sides said the mediator wants to resume talks on Tuesday. Healthcare has been a key sticking point in the negotiations.