Allina Health hospital nurses will vote Thursday on whether to approve a three-year contract that would begin to phase out their union-protected health benefits, or potentially authorize a second strike — this time an open-ended walkout that would continue until the contract standoff was resolved.
The average salary for physicians and surgeons in Texas is about $20,000 less than the national average, and more than a third of nurses surveyed in the state said they were unhappy with their pay and wanted to switch jobs.
With fees expected to almost triple in the next year, licensed midwives are concerned their practice could be crippled in Alaska. The state Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing has proposed increasing the "direct-entry" midwife certification fee from $1,750 to $4,700 every other year, as well as raising other fees associated with the program.
The Minnesota Nurses Association on Tuesday called for nearly 5,000 Allina Health nurses to authorize an indefinite strike against five Allina hospitals. A vote is set for Aug. 18. The move comes a day after contract talks between the union and hospital system broke down again. The nurses' health plan remains the main sticking point.
Unionized nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital voted Wednesday to approve a new three-year contract, formally ending a bitter labor dispute with one of the state’s largest hospitals. Officials at the Massachusetts Nurses Association declined to say how many nurses turned out for the vote, or how many voted in favor of the contract. The union represents 3,300 Brigham nurses.