Minnesota nurses strike

June 15, 2010

Fourteen Twin Cities hospitals have reached an agreement with the nurse's union after months of negotiations and the threat of an indefinite strike. Minnesota Public Radio News continues to follow the story.

Health care reform played a role in nurses talks
On Tuesday, 12,000 Twin Cities nurses will vote on a hard-fought contract deal with area hospitals and the impact of health care reform was a major, but largely hidden factor, in the negotiation talks.July 2, 2010
Despite compromises, nurses say agreement sends a deep message
Hospitals and Twin Cities nurses have avoided a strike set for next Tuesday, and they say that may be the biggest victory that comes out of yesterday's tentative contract settlement.July 2, 2010
Nurses have mixed reactions to contract deal
Twin Cities nurses are expressing a wide variety of reactions to the agreement announced Thursday between union negotiators and fourteen hospitals.July 2, 2010
Nurses, hospitals reach agreement; strike avoided
Fourteen Twin Cities hospitals have reached an agreement with the nurses' union after months of negotiations and the threat of another strike, hospitals and union officials said Thursday.July 1, 2010
Minn. nurses approve second strike at 14 hospitals
Minnesota nurses who walked out for one day earlier this month voted overwhelmingly Monday to authorize an open-ended strike on 14 hospitals in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.June 22, 2010
Nurses call hospital offer a 'delay tactic'
The Minnesota Nurses Association has responded to a request from Twin Cities hospitals to pledge not to strike until the end of next month.June 18, 2010
Twin Cities Hospitals willing to return to bargaining table
Twin Cities Hospitals said Thursday they're willing to return to the bargaining table with the nurses union -- under certain conditions. The hospitals say they'll return to negotiations if the union agrees to a "no lockout, no strike" pledge through July 31.June 17, 2010
Despite worries of hardship, many nurses say they're ready for strike
Twelve-thousand Twin Cities nurses are facing a difficult choice -- whether to approve a potentially indefinite strike, or return to the bargaining table without the leverage of a threatened walkout.June 17, 2010
Union preps nurses on long-term strike ahead of vote
The Minnesota Nurses Association began briefing its members Wednesday on its open-ended strike strategy. Twin Cities nurses will vote Monday on whether to authorize the union's plan.June 16, 2010
Nurses to vote on another, open-ended strike
Twin Cities nurses will vote next Monday on whether to authorize an open-ended strike against 14 Twin Cities Hospitals.June 14, 2010
Nurses' strike is one symptom of a deeper problem
There is a lot of money in the health business, but resources at the level of patient care are stretched dangerously thin.June 11, 2010
Supervisor fills in for striking nurses
Polly Groshens is a clinical director at Woodwinds Health Campus in Woodbury, Minn. On the day of the work stoppage, she filled in for striking nurses at St. John's Hospital in Maplewood.June 10, 2010
Hospitals: Surgeries, births going smoothly during strike
Hospital officials said Thursday that surgeries, childbirths and other procedures were taking place as expected at 14 Twin Cities hospitals while their nurses picketed outside.June 10, 2010
Video: Nurse steps from hospital ward onto picket line
Brittany Christianson is participating in Minnesota's largest nurses' strike. Her emotions range from nervous to excited to sad. The 24-hour work stoppage means she'll be turning her patients over to a non-union, replacement nurse.June 10, 2010
Unanswered questions remain after nurse strike
Twin Cities nurses are expected to return to work today after participating in the largest nurses strike in the country's history. 12,000 nurses at 14 metro hospitals walked off the job for 24 hours. They're fighting to keep their pension benefits and increase staffing. Both sides still need to work out a new contract.June 11, 2010
Issues remain after nurses strike
Twin Cities nurses are expected to return to work Friday after participating in the largest nurses strike in the country's history.June 11, 2010
After the nurses strike, what's next?
Nurses are back on the job in the Twin Cities, after 12,000 of them walked the picket lines Thurday in a one-day protest against stalled contract negotiations. But those contract talks don't appear headed toward a resolution.June 11, 2010
At a glance: Nurses contract talks
Contract negotiations continue between about 12,000 Twin Cities nurses and six hospital systems -- Allina, Fairview, Children's, HealthEast, North Memorial, and ParkNicollet Methodist -- which operate 13 metro-area hospitals.May 13, 2010
Hospitals: Patient volume will determine how many nurses return after strike
The nurses are planing a 24-hour strike, but Maureen Schriner, a spokeswoman for the 14 hospitals where those nurses work, says patient volume will determine when they'll be called back to their jobs.June 9, 2010
Hospitals say they're ready for emergencies during strike
Hospital officials say they plan to fully staff emergency rooms and childbirth wards at all 14 hospitals where nurses are expected to strike Thursday.June 9, 2010
Twin Cities hospitals prepare for nurses' walkout
Hospitals have been advertising for replacement nurses for months. They haven't released any details yet on how many nurses they have recruited, but hospitals have said that their staffing will be sufficient to provide critical care.June 8, 2010
Talks between nurses, hospitals make 'zero progress'
The spokesman for the Minnesota Nurses Association said in an email that "zero progress" has been made between representatives from 14 Twin Cities hospitals and their nurses, as the two sides work to avoid a one-day nurse strike.June 2, 2010
Twin Cities nurses to strike June 10 if agreement not reached
About 12,000 Twin Cities nurses will walk off their jobs that day, if they cannot reach a contract agreement.May 28, 2010
Twin Cities hospitals, nurses agree to talk
Twin Cities nurses have called a news conference as a potential strike looms that would affect 14 hospitals.May 28, 2010
Hospitals ask nurses to return to bargaining table
Each of the six Twin Cities hospital systems sent their requests Wednesday to the Minnesota Nurses Association, which is the union representing the nurses in their contract dispute.May 26, 2010
Hospitals call for more talks with nurses
Twin Cities hospitals are asking nurses to stop posturing and get back to the bargaining table. The hospitals' plea comes nearly a week after an overwhelming majority of nurses rejected new contract offers and authorized a one-day strike.May 25, 2010
Minn. nurses authorize strike at 14 metro hospitals
Thousands of nurses at 14 Twin Cities hospitals have voted overwhelmingly to reject contract proposals and authorize a strike as early as next month.May 19, 2010
Twin Cities nurses: Potential strike would last one day
Twin Cities nurses considering a strike to protest staffing levels and cuts to their pension plan say the possible walkout would last only one day.May 18, 2010
Little progress in negotiations between nurses and hospitals
The last of the scheduled bargaining sessions between Minnesota nurses and Twin Cities hospitals concluded Thursday without significant progress on the main issue that divides them: patient safety.May 13, 2010
Nurses to picket three hospitals to protest thin ranks, pension cuts
Minnesota nurses are planning to picket outside of three metro-area hospitals Thursday afternoon to demand that hospitals increase the number of nurses they have on staff to care for patients. They also will voice their displeasure over proposed cuts to their pension plan.May 6, 2010