Minneapolis Nursing Strike

5 posts · started Jun 17, 2010

Scrubfan Jun 17, 2010, 3:21 PM

I witnessed first hand the other day the nursing strike in Minneapolis! Bravo to all the nurses that are fighting for higher quality staffing levels. They are doing a tremendous job, I was amazed to see so much support. Most of the nurses felt that the hospitals and boards would not listen to their issues. Some boards believed staffing levels could be cut. But an interesting point of view was taken, that machines can not give patients the personal touch and care of a human being. How do you feel about the nursing strike?

Grandma-RN Jun 17, 2010, 3:58 PM

Scrubfan wrote:I witnessed first hand the other day the nursing strike in Minneapolis! Bravo to all the nurses that are fighting for higher quality staffing levels. They are doing a tremendous job, I was amazed to see so much support. Most of the nurses felt that the hospitals and boards would not listen to their issues. Some boards believed staffing levels could be cut. But an interesting point of view was taken, that machines can not give patients the personal touch and care of a human being. How do you feel about the nursing strike?

Hello. If I may ask, did you work during this strike. I almost went but changed my mind because of crossing that "line" if you will. When fellow nurses are working for a cause and I go work did not set well with me. Who knows, one day I might cross but this time I could not.

Would love to here more answers to your posed question, Scrubfan

AprilRN Jun 18, 2010, 12:42 AM

Thank you MICU-RN for not crossing the picket line. This strike does not just effect the metro nurses. So many rural facilities keep pay/benefits/staffing comparable to the metro hospitals so they can retain RN's. They are the ones with teh power b/c they have so many nurses under the same contract. I know when we negotiate later this year we don't have the same power standing strong as those 12000 nurses do. I'm worried and curious to see how our negotiations go after all of these problems in the cities. The worst part is how they make the nurses look in the media. It's sad that they portray their hard working RN's as greedy.

Grandma-RN Jun 18, 2010, 2:42 AM

AprilRN wrote:Thank you MICU-RN for not crossing the picket line. This strike does not just effect the metro nurses. So many rural facilities keep pay/benefits/staffing comparable to the metro hospitals so they can retain RN's. They are the ones with teh power b/c they have so many nurses under the same contract. I know when we negotiate later this year we don't have the same power standing strong as those 12000 nurses do. I'm worried and curious to see how our negotiations go after all of these problems in the cities. The worst part is how they make the nurses look in the media. It's sad that they portray their hard working RN's as greedy.

We do not get the pay, respect, or recgonition as we should. Just think about all the other professions that make more than we do. Not knocking what they make, but, it just seems odd at best.

I pray all goes well with the negotiation.

AprilRN Jun 20, 2010, 8:15 AM

All is not going well, monday they go into another vote for an open ended strike. : ( I wish I could do something to help them. It's such a hard position to be in- but they are doing important work for the nursing field.