The looming threat of a nursing strike in Minnesota has disappeared after the state’s nurses association gave in on the critical issue of staffing ratios.
After insisting for months that patient safety was their primary concern in contract negotiations, the Minnesota Nurses Association caved in their central demand of strict nurse-patient staffing ratios in a seemingly from-out-of-nowhere settlement with 14 Twin Cities hospitals. It averted what had once seemed a certain strike.
Instead, the nurses have agreed to work on staffing concerns through existing hospital committees. But even the union’s second-most important demand — annual raises between 3.5 percent and 4 percent on a three-year contract — went the hospitals’ way in the settlement. The nurses ended up accepting no wage increase the first year, and 1 percent and 2 percent increases in the next two years.
About the only thing that went the nurses’ way was that the hospitals dropped proposed cuts to nurse pensions and changes in health insurance and other benefits. That’s hardly seems like a victory — it’s just maintaining the status quo.
It was clear as early as a week ago that ratios were a near impossibility. University of Minnesota labor relations Professor John Remington told the Star-Tribune that he doesn’t think “there’s a winner here” even though the union gave in on its two most-important objectives. The union switched from saber-rattling to spin. It said on its blog that in today’s economy — one that has battered hospital finances — “it is literally unheard of to reach a labor agreement with ZERO concessions.”
The nurses stated “We have only BEGUN to fight for safe staffing.” But it’s clear from the mood in the video (posted below) the compromise is a blow to the nurses and that promise may prove hollow. From day one, the hospitals said they’d never accept nurse-patient ratios because such strict staffing requirements would kill them financially, and in the end that argument apparently steamrolled any case the nurses could make for such ratios’ enhancing patient safety.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Nurses will vote to ratify the agreement Tuesday.
Update: Citizen journalism group The Uptake talks with MNA Spokesperson John Nemo about the deal.
