On June 10, the Minnesota Nurses Association, which
represents 12,000 workers, held a highly successful one-day strike.
Negotiations between the MNA and hospital management have
involved cuts to pensions and health benefits, and the issue of understaffing,
which increases nurses’ workload and reduces the quality of care.
Following the strike, nurses voted to authorize an
open-ended strike in the event that negotiations fail. But the strike had a positive
effect on negotiations. On July 6, the nurses voted for a contract that
contains no concessions or take-backs and defers the issue of staffing to
various committees.
