Allina Health has reached a tentative agreement with SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa bargaining groups, averting a strike.
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota represents more than 500 senior mental health coordinators, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech language pathologists, and lab employees at Central Laboratory, Abbott Northwestern and Mercy hospitals, according to hospital and union statements shared with Becker's. Allina, a Minneapolis-based system with 12 hospital campuses, has 27,000 employees total.
Union members announced a seven-day strike starting May 15. With the tentative deal reached, the union has called off the strike.
"I'm incredibly proud of these teams for how hard they fought and for winning strong first contracts," Jamie Gulley, president of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, said in the May 10 union statement. "These workers have been on the front lines of keeping our families safe and healthy and many have been fighting for over a year to get to this point. These groups showed how committed they were to making sure healthcare workers are respected, protected and paid by overwhelmingly authorizing [an unfair labor practice] strike last week, and their solidarity resulted in the tentative agreements reached overnight."
Allina shared the following statement with Becker's: "Allina Health is pleased with the settlement that values the priorities of both parties and is fair and equitable to our employees, patients and our communities."
The tentative agreement is now subject to approval by union members. The union said details of the deal are not being shared publicly as they are being shared with workers.