Nurses in Duluth authorize a strike at St. Luke's Hospital
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Updated: 3:33 p.m.
Nurses in Duluth voted Thursday to authorize a strike at St. Luke's Hospital.
The Minnesota Nurses Association said its membership voted overwhelmingly to reject St. Luke's latest contract offer and authorize a walkout.
The union issued a statement saying the vote followed a 17-hour negotiating session Wednesday that failed to produce a tentative agreement.
The vote authorizing a strike doesn't mean one is certain.
St. Luke’s president and CEO Kevin Nokels said that the decision was disappointing “as St. Luke’s has made an abundantly fair offer.”
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He said that the hospital offered increases that match the recent Essentia contact and metro-area contract wage increases, in addition to increases in extra shift bonuses, student loan reimbursement and a retention payment for registered nurses with more than 20-years experience.
“Despite yesterday’s vote, St. Luke’s remains committed to constructive talks, solution-seeking and transparency,” Nokels said in a statement following the vote result. “We are hopeful that MNA will return to the negotiations table and that we will be able to come to a fair agreement and avoid a strike.
The nurses' negotiating committee would make the final decision to begin a strike, the union said, and a strike would involve about 650 nurses. The union says nurses have been working without a contract since July 1 and the union has filed an unfair labor practices complaint with federal labor officials.
Nurses at Essentia Health in Duluth ratified a new three-year contract earlier this week, following months of negotiations.