For the first time since 4,800 nurses from Minneapolis-based Allina Health staged a week-long strike in June, the Minnesota Nurses Association and the health system will resume negotiations, according to the Star Tribune.
Talks are expected to take place July 22. Negotiators intend on addressing a dispute over the cost and design of the nurses' union-backed health insurance.
The nurses started a walkout Sunday June 19 at five Minnesota facilities, including Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis, UnityHospital in Fridley, UnitedHospital in St. Paul, MercyHospital in Coon Rapids and Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis.
The MNA announced June 6 that the nurses at Allina Health voted to reject Allina Health's contract offer, which would have eliminated union-backed health insurance and moved the workers to plans that other health system employees receive. Nurses at the voting locations said they either wanted to keep their current health benefits, or didn't want to give them up with concessions.
Allina believes it would save $10 million a year by switching the nurses to its corporate health plans. In a statement, the health system responded to the nurses' vote, expressing disappointment and saying it is "ready to meet with the union whenever they are, but any meeting must include meaningful discussion about the health plans."
Following the end of the strike, Allina made a new offer to the nurses. The proposal still calls for nurses to switch from their union-backed health plans to the system's corporate plan. However, the proposal gives them until 2020 to make the move, according to the Star Tribune. The report states that the new offer also includes concessions in other areas — such as allowing the union to appoint nurses to workplace safety committees — as well as 2 percent annual raises for the next three years. The MNA and Allina Health officials will review this deal on the July 22 meeting.