Nurses at 5 Minneapolis-Area Hospitals Begin Weeklong Strike

[Omaha Steve]

Source: ABC News-AP

About 4,800 nurses at five Minneapolis-area hospitals have begun a weeklong strike over a contract impasse.

Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association members began striking at 7 a.m. Sunday at hospitals operated by Allina Health — Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis, Mercy in Coon Rapids, United in St. Paul, Unity in Fridley, and the Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis.

The main dispute is over Allina's effort to switch union nurses to the same health insurance plans as more than 30,000 other Allina employees and their family members, which carry lower monthly premiums but higher out-of-pocket costs.

The union's president, Mary Turner, said Sunday that members will demonstrate for 12 hours each day outside of each of the five hospitals.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/4800-nurses-set-strike-sunday-twin-cities-hospitals-39966722

[HelenWheels]

1. As a nurse I love Unions

Nurses began receiving much better pay when they joined a union.

[Equinox Moon]

2. The nurses see what the Corporation is doing

They know it is about Corporate profit over individuals. Allina wants to change their health care benefits by increasing their out-of-pocket in many ways, costing each nurse and their family $$$$ every year. New expenses they don't currently have.

The corporation claims there is a new Obama Care law that will cost the Corporation 10 million a year. The nurses asked for proof. The Corporation will not provide it.

This is about Corporate Greed.

[seabeckind]

3. I have a good friend who is a nurse

She says that the non-care staff has been cut and that nurses are expected to do some of the duties that used to be done by aides. Add that to the patient load and it gets pretty harrowing during heavy load situations.

The budget people only look at the overall numbers and staff for the median line instead of the peaks.

No matter... only affects the patients. And the budget guys don't have to face any of them.

(added) And it affects the morale and motivation for the workers. But the budget guys don't have a column for that so it doesn't matter.

Happening everywhere in every service area.

[Equinox Moon]

4. The safety issues/concerns are not being covered by press

The strike is about a few areas, not only their health care being gutted.

The press always covers only part of the story. Too bad.

I think nurses don't strike unless it is very serious. A strike is risky and some might not get their jobs back.
I hope this goes well for the nurses.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. I hope the nurses hang tough. n/t

[Scruffy1]

6. Proud to walk the picket line with these people.

I'll be back tomorrow.

[dflprincess]

7. Allina is trying to push the nurses into the kind of health care plan

that a person can't afford to use because of the high out of pockets. You would think TBTB at Allina would have settled this quietly rather than more or less admitting that what they charge patients is so out of control they can't "afford" to see that their own employees can get health care.

It should also be noted that three other large health care systems in the area, Park Nicollet, Healtheast, and Fairview settled with their nurses and did not cut their health insurance.

There has also been no mention in the local media about what the CEO and other corporate officers make. I have heard complaints from a couple nurses who recently left Allina that in the last couple years the focus had gone from patients/employees to making a profit. To be honest, those are anecdotal stories I have nothing to back that up with.