Minnesota Nurses Launch What May Be the Largest Nurses Strike in U.S. History

On Thur., June 10, 2010 a 1-day walkout was launched by 12,000 Minnesota Nurses. The nurses began the one-day strike at 7 a.m. at 14 hospitals in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Organizers said the nurses would walk the picket lines in three eight-hour shifts and by the end of the day nearly 12,000 would have participated in the 1-day walkout. It's being called the largest nurses strike in U.S. history.

The immediate effect of the walkout was expected to be minimal, as hospitals hired 2,800 replacement nurses, called in extra non-unionized staff, reduced patient levels and some hospitals had rescheduled elective surgeries. Staff of 2 of the metro area's largest hospitals weren't involved in the one day walk-out.

"Nobody is listening to us", is what the nurses are claiming. "The rally cry is that we're standing up for patient care and we're standing up for ourselves". A key issue in the dispute was the nurses demand for strict nurse to patient ratios, rejected by hospitals as inflexible and unnecessary. A cardiology nurse at Abbot hospital for 24 years said patient safety was the nurses top concern.

Like other businesses, hospitals are trying to trim their budgets even as health care costs have been skyrocketing. Nurse pay and benefits are among the hospitals largest expenses. Nurses oppose proposed pension cuts and complain that staffing levels have reached dangerous levels, making their jobs even more stressful.

Near midday on Thur., hospital officials said they were having no problems with patient care, with more than enough nurses on hand.

Will this one-day strike be effective is yet to be seen. Some of our local politicians and others that support the union walked the picket line throughout the day. In 1984 about 6,000 Twin Cities nurses also went on strike for 5 weeks. Plans for a one-day nurses strike in California by thousands more nurses was blocked earlier this week by a San Francisco judge. A series of rallies were scheduled instead.

With new demands being put on the nurses by advancing medical technology and patients that tend to be sicker with multiple chronic conditions, the nurses are saying "they've had enough". Only time will tell if this one-day walkout will resolve any of their concerns.

Sources: KSTP.com-5 Eyewitness News