Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/739311
M AY | J U N E 2 0 1 6 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 5 10-day notice include Communications Workers of America (CWA), St. Paul Federa- tion of Teachers, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, and the Newspaper Guild. "It's unfortunate and very disappointing," said Angela Becchetti, a registered nurse at Abbott Northwestern Hospital after the Aug. 23 negotiating session. "Allina's negotiators have been determined not to have an honest conversation with nurses. We will not forget this disrespectful behavior anytime soon." Nurses overwhelmingly rejected Allina's last offer in a vote on Aug. 18 and authorized the negotiating team to call for an open- ended unfair labor practice strike. "Nurses are prepared to go out on strike five, six, seven weeks, whatever it takes," Becchetti said. "We will all leave our jobs at Allina hospitals rather than accept an offer that costs nurses thousands of dollars, takes away our voice, and puts our families at risk." The entire labor community pledged support for nurses at a crowded rally and vigil on Aug. 31. Elsewhere around the state, MNA nurses are also in difficult negotiations with large hospital systems. In northern Minnesota, MNA nurses in Duluth-Superior, Virginia, and Brainerd are fighting the Essentia Health system over safe staffing, health insurance, and other nursing issues. Nurses at Essentia's hospitals in Duluth and Superior reached a tentative agreement on Aug. 31, after putting pressure on Essentia to negotiate a fair contract with a well- attended informational picket in July, a march on the boss, appearing at the city council to seek support, and billboards that say "Has Essentia lost the care in healthcare? Ask an MNA nurse about staffing." The new agreement includes changes to the nurses' health insurance plans that are offset by improvements in other key areas of the contract. As MNA works on each of these contracts, a common thread that runs through all is emerging. Corporate health- care is attempting to weaken the voice of nurses and break up our unions. The nurses in Minnesota, however, have a message for their employers: You cannot break us! —Barbara Brady