Hastings and Willmar Nurses Announce Contract Resolutions

May 2, 2014
For Immediate Release

 

 

Thursday, May 1 was a strong day for nurses in contracts represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association. In two separate settings, MNA nurses ratified a contract at Regina Medical Center in Hastings and achieved a tentative agreement at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar.  Both agreements advance working conditions for nurses and hold firm against proposed concessions from hospital management.

Wages for 100 MNA nurses in Hastings will increase 4.5 percent over the course of the contract, which expires May 31, 2016.  Pay will be retroactive to June 2013, which takes into account contract negotiations have been ongoing for more than a year.  Other benefits achieved include the addition of a 25-year step increase and a $2 per hour increase for on-call pay.  Both items align Hastings nurses closer to wage packages of nurses in Allina facilities in the Twin Cities. 

Hastings nurses also sought parity with metro benefits in the areas of pension and health insurance in this round of bargaining and were disappointed by Allina's refusal to recognize the value of those items toward nurse retention and recruitment. 

The next contract negotiations for the Hastings facility, however, coincide with 11,600 nurses opening bargaining in the metro area.  "I have a hunch we are well positioned to take another run at this with more colleagues at our side," said Jane Traynor, Chair of the Hastings bargaining unit.  "For now, it is in the best interest of our community to settle this contract and move on," she added. 

Traynor commended all the nurses in the bargaining unit for their level of engagement and interest throughout the entire process. "We have an amazing group of caregivers who want to do the right thing for our patients, and will fight for the tools that will help us advocate as best we can," she said. 

In Willmar, the 213-member bargaining unit fought off all concessions proposed by management and are recommending ratification of the agreement.  Nurses are reviewing the specifics of the offer over the coming days.

In seven sessions of contract talks, the Willmar team faced down hurdles thrown not only by management, but by Mother Nature as well, as six meetings were held in the midst of raging blizzards.  The determination of the group was also evident in the number of solidarity actions the nurses conducted.  

"One petition, one hallway lining (to greet management negotiators as they entered talks), one City Council jamming, one hospital board demonstration, and three days of cramming the CEO's voicemail made a difference," said Willmar Bargaining Unit Chair Carolyn Jorgenson.  "We are a force to be reckoned with, and we got an agreement that will go a long way to protect our patients." 

The date for voting on the Rice Memorial tentative agreement has not yet been set.