Minneapolis-based Allina Health and the union representing its striking nurses will return to the bargaining table Tuesday after being prompted by a federal mediator, according to a Star Tribune report.
The nurses, who are represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association, began their second strike of the summer on Labor Day at five Minnesota hospitals — Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis, United Hospital in St. Paul, Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and Unity Hospital in Fridley. Negotiations between the two sides began in February, according to the article.
As of Friday night, a specific time and location for Tuesday's talks had not been determined.
A key sticking point in the dispute between Allina and its 4,800 nurses has been the nurses' health insurance.
Allina wanted to eliminate the nurses' union-backed health plans, which include high premiums but low or no deductibles, and move the nurses to its corporate plans, reports the Star Tribune. Allina has estimated that eliminating the nurses' union-backed health plans would save the health system $10 million per year.
The MNA eventually agreed to drop the union plans but sought some control of the policies and assurances that the benefit levels of the corporate plans would remain in tact, according to the Star Tribune. Allina didn't go for that idea, the publication states, and disputed the union's contention that its corporate plans are substandard.
The nurses could lose health insurance coverage if the open-ended walkout continues through Oct. 1, reports Pioneer Press. Allina spokesman David Kanihan noted in the report that now-striking nurses must work at least one shift before Oct. 1 if they want Allina to continue covering their share of the nurses' healthcare costs.
Meanwhile, Allina has claimed that more than 550 nurses have crossed picket lines, as well as temporary nurses and other medical professionals who have continued to work during the strike, according to the Star Tribune. The union has questioned those numbers.
The MNA has also set up a hardship fund of more than $4 million for nurses struggling with the loss of income during the walkout, according to the Star Tribune.
The latest strike is the second since an initial seven-day strike in June. The June strike cost Allina $20.4 million.
More articles on human capital and risk:
NJ nurses advocate for CDC to study gun violence
Saint Louis University Hospital nurses vote on tentative agreement covering 660 workers
Mayo and SEIU to resume negotiations over food service worker outsourcing plans