Minnesota Nurses Association members file 10-day notice of strike against Allina Health

Nurses are protesting Allina Health benefits changes. (MNA via Twitter)

Nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association have filed a 10-day notice of intent to strike with Allina Health, promising an open-ended Unfair Labor Practice strike beginning at 7 a.m. on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5.

More than 5,000 nurses had voted to strike last Thursday over Allina's proposal to change health plans for the nurses to the same ones other Allina employees are offered; that would have resulted in increases in premiums and deductibles. MNA said about 66 percent of the nurses voted to strike.

Nurses announced the filing at a press conference at the AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion at the Minnesota State Fair. They were joined by leaders of other unions, who also announced they were filing notices of intent to strike Allina Health.

"I'm here to say the 86,000 members of Education Minnesota are standing behind Minnesota's nurses," said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota. "We will walk your picket line for as long as it takes."

[Also: Nurses strike averted at Brigham and Women's Hospital]

The latest round of negotiations between nurses and Allina Health ended on Tuesday with no agreement.

Mediators with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service met with both sides during the day to discuss the potential for settlement on a new three-year contract. Nurses have been in talks with Allina Health since February.

"On August 1, nurses attempted to meet the employer halfway by agreeing to end two of their four affordable healthcare plans and raise the deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for 4,000 nurses," MNA said in a statement. "Allina Health responded with a proposal that caps the company's contribution toward premiums and puts the burden of cost increases almost solely on the nurses. Allina also insisted that the two existing plans be terminated if enrollment dips below 1,000 participants. Nurses rejected this offer."

But Allina said on its website that the nurses offer did not meet them halfway, and that the union's proposal "to pool the risk experience would result in all other benefits-enrolled employees subsidizing the increasing costs of the outdated nurse-only plans."

[Also: 5,000 Allina Health nurses to strike in Minnesota over health plan changes]

In a statement released Friday Allina said, "Today, the nurses' union chose the path of walking away from patient care instead of working to find a reasonable solution to the health insurance issues at the center of this contract dispute. The union's actions bring us no closer to a settlement and do a disservice not only to nurses but to all Allina Health employees and, most importantly, to our patients.

Allina Health continues to offer a fair compromise by agreeing to retain the two most popular nurse-only health insurance plans for existing nurses, while capping the ongoing cost increases of those plans for Allina Health. We believe this compromise can form the basis of a settlement if the union will come to the table ready to discuss it."

Allina said it believes the nurses are committed to quality care, but that if they choose to strike, "we will take the steps necessary to continue that commitment to care. We hope it doesn't come to that."

The benefits were not the only issue over the proposed 2016-2019 contract. According to MNA, nurses were disappointed that Allina was not offering them training for dealing with workplace violence.

Nurses will begin planning the logistics for an Unfair Labor Practice strike. Picketing will take place around Abbott Northwestern, Mercy, Phillips Eye Institute, United and Unity hospitals, as well as Allina's headquarters.

Twitter: @JELagasse