Federal mediators have called for nurses and administrators at two Duluth, Minn.-area hospitals to resume contract discussions this week.
More than 1,300 nurses at SMDC Medical Center and St. Luke's Hospital voted overwhelmingly last week to reject their contract offers and authorize a one-day strike. Approximately 90 percent of SMDC nurses voted to reject their contract offer, while more than 86 percent of St. Luke's nurses voted to authorize a strike.
Federal officials have mediated contract talks between the nurses – represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association – and the two hospital systems, which began in May.
A tentative meeting between SMDC nurses and hospital leaders has been set for August 25, while a similar meeting between St. Luke's nurses and hospital administrators has been scheduled for August 26.
According to the MNA, the key issues for the nurses are the option for a nurse to refuse an unsafe patient assignment and the ability of a nurse to temporarily close his or her unit to new admissions during an unsafe staffing situation. Nurses in Minneapolis and St. Paul have had language in their contracts since the late 1990s giving them those abilities, and the Duluth nurses want the same.
National labor laws require that hospitals be given at least a 10-day notice before any strike can take place. Duluth nurses can issue their strike notice to SMDC and St. Luke's at any time, but MNA representatives say the union's goal remains to avoid a strike and reach a settlement instead.