A massive group of Minnesota nurses began a three-day strike early Monday over pay and understaffing issues.
Approximately 15,000 nurses in Minneapolis and Duluth joined the event while hospitals said they brought in temporary staffers for the time being, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The hospitals and nurses agreed on the staffing shortages problem.
“The hospitals have offered 10-12% wage increases but the nurses are seeking more than 30%. Hospital leaders called their wage demands unaffordable, noting that Allina and Fairview hospitals have posted operating losses and that the cost of such sharp wage increases would be passed along to patients,” the outlet said.
At a press conference Monday, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association Mary Turner claimed, “Guys, this is a fight for our very profession.”
When asked what the plan was for Thursday after the strike, Turner continued, “All of our employers kind of left in a huff… they kind of chastised us for wasting their time and so disappointed in us. Downright offensive.”
“So I would assume we’re gonna all want to get back to the table as soon as possible,” Turner continued:
However, “the union rejected all requests for mediation and held fast to wage demands that were unrealistic, unreasonable and unaffordable,” several of the hospitals affected explained in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Twin Cities Hospital Group Spokesperson Paul Omodt told WCCO, “Twenty-nine and thirty percent wage demands is something we’ve told them repeatedly is not something that’s affordable for hospitals that have lost hundreds of millions of dollars so far in 2022.”
Hospitals affected included M Health Fairview, Children’s Hospital, North Memorial, and HealthPartners, while the Duluth locations were Essentia and St. Luke’s.
Video footage showed strikers holding signs that read “Patients Before Profits” while marching down the street:
The strike happened as union activity ramped up across the nation, the AP report stated.