Minnesota Nurses To Strike As They Demand Better Work Conditions

Thousands of Minnesota nurses are planning to strike later this month because they say their employers have ignored demands for a new union contract.

The strike will begin at 7 a.m. September 12 and end at 7 a.m. September 15, Mary Turner, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, said during a press conference Thursday. About 15,000 nurses plan to stop working in what is believed to be the largest private-sector nurses strike in U.S. history.

"This isn't something we do lightly, but we're not going to sit back and do nothing," she said. "We're serious about this and we have been all along."

The nurses work at 16 hospitals across the state, according to CBS Minnesota, including Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, St. John's Hospital in Maplewood and North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale.

The nurses said they've been trying to negotiate a new contract since March, but hospital executives have called their demands too expensive. Nurses now say they're striking because hospitals refuse to hire more staff, a decision that means patients must endure long stints in the waiting room instead of receiving the care they need.

Nurses also said they're tired of seeing patients slapped with overpriced bills while hospital CEOs bring in multi-million salaries.

Turner said hospital executives in Minnesota have misplaced their priorities and the upcoming strike is about putting patients before profit. 

This is a breaking news story that will be updated later.

First published on September 1, 2022 / 10:30 AM

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