Northland Nurses Demands For Improved Working Conditions Yet to be Fulfilled
Nurses picket in front of St. Luke's hospital on East First Street. Picture by Hunter Riley.
Thousands of nurses across Minnesota and Wisconsin demanding improved working conditions have yet to reach a deal with hospital administrators following a three-day strike.
Nurses formed picket lines on Monday, Sept. 12 in front of Saint Luke’s and both Essentia Health locations in Duluth and Superior, Wisconsin.
Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association voted to authorize a strike on August 15, 2022, well exceeding the two-thirds majority needed to begin the strike.
The primary issue nurses are facing is staffing.
“We're trying to get the ability to say ‘I am not able to take this assignment right now,’” said Lorie Olesiak, a representative of the Minnesota Nurses Association. “It is not safe.”
Nurses are attempting to negotiate the implementation of a “grid system,” which would cap the number of patients assigned to each nurse, since 2012.
“10 years later and here we are fighting for staffing,” Olesiak said. “This is a fight we’ve had every single contract since then.”
In 2019, there were marginal advancements on staffing. However, the nurses' full demands are yet to be fulfilled.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that on a good day, I am doing the job of three people,” Andrew Unverdorben of Essentia Health in Superior, Wisconsin said.
Nurses gather outside Essentia Health on East Fourth Street to end three-day strike. Picture by Hunter Riley.
Becky Bixby, another representative for Minnesota Nurses Association, explained that with limited staffing, there is the possibility for potential missteps.
“We have each other's backs, you know, we try to watch each other's patients, but when you’re already overwhelmed that also puts all those other people at risk.”
Nurses negotiated for a 30% pay increase over three years, but the nurses maintained that it’s not just about the money.
“A lot of nurses have compassion fatigue,” Bixby said. “You don't have enough nurse bodies for the number of patients that are on the floor that have all these different things going on. You feel like a failure constantly.”
Mental health has also become a growing problem due to staffing shortages.
“After a while a lot of people ended up with anxiety, depression, trouble sleeping, all kinds of stuff because you just could not get it out of your head,” Bixby said.
Nurses and hospital administrators have still not reached an agreement on the terms of the next contract. Minnesota Nurses Association representative Cathy Malec said that negotiations are tentatively scheduled to resume on Sept. 20, 2022.