Allina Health Nurses To Take Strike Vote

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) – About 5,000 nurses are voting Thursday on whether to accept a new contract or authorize an open-ended strike.

Leaders of the Minnesota Nurse's Association have asked their members to reject the three-year contract and authorize an indefinite strike at five metro Allina Health hospitals.

The vote comes in the wake of a week-long strike in June that ended without a deal. The strike forced Allina to bring in replacement nurses, costing the health system about $20 million.

Allina wants to transition its nurses to a health plan that other employees have, which the company says would save $10 million a year. The nurses feel the plan is not as good as the union one they currently have.

In a statement Thursday, Allina said it is offering the nurses a compromise by retaining the two most popular nurse-only insurance plans.

"It's disappointing that union leadership is not supporting this offer and is instead focusing on strikes," the statement said.

The hospitals that would be affected by the strike would be Abbott Northwestern and Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis, United in St. Paul, United in Fridley and Mercy in Coon Rapids.

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