FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: John Nemo, MNA, 651-414-2863 or e-mail
DULUTH, Minn. (August 20, 2010) – Federal mediators have called for Duluth nurses and business executives at two area hospitals – SMDC Medical Center and St. Luke’s – to come back to the bargaining table next week.
A tentative meeting between SMDC nurses and hospital administrators has been set for August 25, while a similarly tentative meeting between St. Luke’s nurses and hospital administrators has been penciled in for August 31. Federal mediators have been trying to bridge the gap in recent weeks during contract talks between 1,350 Duluth RNs and the two hospital systems, which began back in early May.
On August 18, nurses at SMDC and St. Luke’s voted overwhelmingly to reject their respective contract offers and instead authorize a one-day strike. More than 90 percent of SMDC nurses and 86 percent of St. Luke’s RNs voted in favor of a strike.
Two key patient safety issues – 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 – are the key sticking points in contract talks at both facilities. In the Twin Cities, nurses have had language in their contracts since the late 1990s that gives RNs the ability to do both of these things.
“If it’s good enough for nurses and patients in the Cities, why isn’t it good enough for nurses and patients in the Northland?” SMDC RN Steve Strand asked. “We’re not looking for anything new or unusual here. We’re simply looking to add the same type of patient safety language that other nurses in our state have.”
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 their intent remains to avoid a strike and reach a settlement instead, according to nurse leaders.
“Nobody wins in a strike,” Strand said. “Our goal remains to get our employers back to the table and work out a contract that ensures safe patient care, which is the goal of all nurses everywhere and what every patient deserves.”
Tags: Duluth Bargaining, Duluth Strike, patient safety, SMDC, St. Luke's Hospital, unsafe staffing
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