After scheduling a vote on a potential open-ended strike, Minnesota nurses are awaiting hospitals’ response to an invitation to resume negotiations.
The hospitals may respond Thursday to the Minnesota Nurses Association’s invitation to return to the bargaining table next week, said Maureen Schriner, spokeswoman for Twin Cities Hospitals. The hospitals are currently “deliberating” about their next move, she said.
The two sides last negotiated on June 4, Schriner said.
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It’s no coincidence that the nurses proposed resuming negotiations on the day after a scheduled vote that could authorize an open-ended strike. The nurses believe that a strong show of support for a strike will give them more leverage at the negotiating table, while stressing that a “yes” vote to authorize a strike doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll follow through with one.
Still, the possibility of a strike will no doubt scare some nurses worried about the loss of paychecks and health insurance. Others worry that some of their colleagues could cave and cross the picket line if the strike becomes protracted and finances get stretched thin.
The union has said that it has a strike fund to provide financial aid to nurses, but union officials won’t say how much cash is in the fund. The union is also seeking a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board that would make striking nurses eligible for unemployment compensation, but that ruling might not come for months.
If 66 percent of voting nurses authorize a strike, the union would be free to strike at any time — provided it gives the hospitals 10 days’ notice.
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Perhaps the most contentious issue between the two sides is staffing levels. The union says a strict patient-to-nurse ratio will protect patient safety. Hospitals argue tough economic times requires flexibility in staffing schedules. Specifically, the union wants a ratio of one registered nurse to four patients in medical and surgical units, and one RN to two patients in critical-care units.
And, like nearly all strikes, pay is a central issue. The union seeks annual raises between 3.5 percent and 4 percent on a three-year contract, while the hospitals counter with raises of 0 percent, 1 percent and 2 percent.
The strike pits about 12,800 nurses union members against 14 Twin Cities-area hospitals. A one-day strike last week failed to draw the sides closer together and seemed only to harden each side’s position, despite likely costing the hospitals millions of dollars.
Hospitals haven’t provided estimates of what the one-day strike cost them, but with many replacement nurses reportedly earning up to three times the daily pay that a union nurse makes, it couldn’t have been cheap.
Photo from flickr user Axel Rouvin