After 4,800 Allina Health nurses at five Twin Cities hospitals went on a weeklong strike in June that didn’t result in a deal, the nurses have voted again to authorize a second strike that will last until a contract is reached. Their dispute is over health benefits, staffing, and workplace safety. Becky Auger, a nurse in St. Paul, says the Allina Health nurses have agreed to a second strike because otherwise their efforts would be all for naught after the first strike didn’t get them anything.
Several of the nurses who voted for the strike have said they will need to find second jobs and cut expenses to counter their loss of pay during a strike, but they believe it is necessary to defend their benefits after their initial strike didn’t result in a deal. A key point in their cause for a second strike is health insurance. Allina executives want to eliminate four union-backed plans and move the nurses to their corporate plans which would result in $10 million in savings per year. However, the corporate plan gives nurses no financial incentive to make prudent health care expenditures.
Allina executives were disappointed when discussions of a second strike broke out. The June strike cost Allina Health $20.4 million. Chief Executive Dr. Penny Wheeler expressed her surprise over the vote for a second strike saying it’s hard to believe that the nurses would strike over this when they have another choice.
Nurses from the five Allina Health hospitals have begun planning ahead for a strike by looking into second jobs and lifestyle changes to help offset the loss of pay. Allina’s attempted negotiations focused solely on health insurance without offering trade-offs to increase staffing. Nurses said they need more support when patients get sick and demand attention that keeps them from committing to other patients. One Allina nurse recalled a recent shift where she didn’t have time to eat, drink, or take a bathroom break, saying she voted for the strike even though it might make her mortgage payments tough to pay.
The last open ended strike proposed from Allina nurses was in 2010, although a compromise was reached before a walkout took place. The last open-ended strike lasted three weeks in 2001 and there was also a strike in 1984. Union officials have begun planning for a strike, and so have the 4,800 Allina nurses, but another round of talks is expected before any walkouts begin.
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