Potential MN Nurses Strike?

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Specializes in CCU, Geriatrics, Critical Care, Tele.

Below is video of an amazing, heartfelt and to-the-point statement from Methodist Hospital RN Karen Anderson during today's bargaining session. Please watch and share this video as it sums up what this entire contract bargaining situation is all about!

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Specializes in LTC.
:yeah::yeah::yeah:
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AFGE 3669 member In solidarity!

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I recently got an email from an agency out of CA that is recruiting 2000 RN for what they say will be a nurse strike in MN June 2010. Has anyone heard of this yet? They are offering almost $5000 week plus all airfare and hotel expenses.:nurse:

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Specializes in Hem/Onc, LTC, AL, Homecare, Mgmt, Psych.

http://www.mnnurses.org/news/press-releases/thousands-mn-nurses-conduct-informational-picketing-may-12

Could be any number of hospitals. Right now looks like just picketing. I haven't heard anything official just rumors of which hospital is striking.

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Thank you for the reply 1214RN. I'm am so torn with deciding whether to go or not. On the one hand I just believe nurses should not strike as patients are ill and really depend on us. On the other hand I do realizes that sometimes hospitals seem to have blatant disregards for safe staffing levels and I myself have had to stand my ground and refuse to work in a facility that routinely attempted to give nurse 8 and 9 med surg patients; it was really overwhelming and dangerous for both the patient and my career. I think the hospital better take heed and realize that they need to be more reasonable even if it means decreasing profit margins. They can not run a hospital without nurses: and nurses are tired of being overworked and underpaid.

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Please don't cross the picket lines.....This will be a rolling action if it happens...Some of the issues are floating not just to different units but DIFFERENT hospitals....Increasing the number of furlough days that they can force employees to take.....Trying to take back safe staffing language....

If you really don't believe in strikes don't enable management to evade bargaining in good faith...

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I am a MN nurse and my hospital is on the possible strike list. There is a strike vote on May 19 that will determine whether or not there will be a strike beginning on June 1, 2010. The union leaders very much want to strike and the nurses at my hospital want to strike. The main issue is reducing the pension fund by 1/3. There are some other issues that I think are so crazy that the hopitals are just bluffing. I really want to keep my job. I have no seniority as I just started about 8 months ago. Do you think I could lose my job if I strike?? Is it legal?? The leaders at my hospital are so pro strike that I dont have anyone to talk to. Any advice??

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I am a MN nurse at a possible strike hopital. There is no way they are going to float nurses to other hospitals. We are under extreme pressure to work 0 hours of overtime per pay period. Our managers go blistic with just a few extra hours. It would take lots of money and training time for me to float to other hospitals. It's just not going to happen. The management to just bluffing. It would also cause liability problems.

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I understand the nurses frustrations, I really do. But it seems so hypocritical to me to tell patients that you are fighting to protect their safety and well being yet you walk out and abandon them at the same time. Many are critically ill, elderly, children. I just feel there is a better way to get what you need. What about suing and petitioning lawmakers? Striking will cause the patients to suffer even more. I just can never agree with the idea of nurses striking. Personally I think it should be illegal, just like air traffic controllers.

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I wonder if nurses realizes that some patients will DIE as a result of this strike?! Do YOU even care?

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They do care. Please see:

At the forefront of 2010 talks are two issues – RN staffing levels and the nurses’ pension fund, which has been in place since 1962.

“More than 72,000 people in this country needlessly die every year because hospitals don’t have enough nurses on staff,” Hamilton said, referencing a 2005Medical Care Journal study. “The numbers don’t lie. If you don’t have enough nurses working, people are going to die when they don’t need to. So we’ll keep saying it until we’re blue in the face: Safe staffing saves lives.”

12,000 MN Nurses Begin Labor Contract Negotiations | Minnesota Nurses Association

I care deeply about patient safety. I am a union RN at the VA hospital. (AFGE 3669) and am not a bargaining unit member of MNA.

I personally support binding arbitration for nurses and teachers but without that then we need to have the option for job actions.

As I said earlier if management knows that they can't staff the hospital that will force them to bargain in good faith.

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