Allina Proposes New Contract To Union Nurses

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) — Allina Health says it's offering a new contract proposal to its union nurses who staff five hospitals in the Twin Cities area.

After a week of walking the picket line, nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) are back to work. Now, Allina has asked the MNA to come back to the bargaining table. The union said Monday it will review the proposal.

The nurses returned to work Sunday following a seven-day strike. The union and its 4,800 members began their walkout June 19 after failing to negotiate a new three-year contract with Allina Health. The main sticking point is the rising cost of health insurance.

Allina Health says its new proposal extends the end date for the health insurance plan most used by its nurses to Dec. 31, 2019. After that, nurses would transition to health insurance options that are available to other Allina Health employees.

"We want to make a significant move towards the union position on workplace safety, which will give our nurses a greater voice on this critical issue," Allina Health CEO Dr. Penny Wheeler said.

But members of the Minnesota Nurses Association's negotiating team say they are outraged by the contract offer, saying Allina is attempting to negotiate through the media. In a statement, MNA says Allina issued a statement to the media when they knew nurses were back at the bedside.

Nurses say at least 200 of them have not been called back to work, but Allina disagrees.

"The return to work is going as planned, as agreed to," Allina's Chief Human Resources Officer Chrstine Moore said. "So we bargained and agreed with the union on a return to work approach before the strike began and we are following those protocols and that agreement."

No time or date has been set for both sides to begin negotiations.

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