Nurses at Essentia Health-Northern Pines in Aurora, Minn., authorized a strike amid broken down contract talks, according to a Mesabi Daily News report.
The strike authorization comes after AFSCME Local 2780 voted Monday to reject a proposal calling for removal of a successorship clause, according to the report. Laura Ackman, campus administrator at Northern Pines, told Mesabi Daily News the successor clause has appeared in contracts for about two decades and limits the hospital's transactions leverage. She called the clause "onerous," and said she believes sides disagree over one sentence in the contract, according to the report. However, the report notes, the union claims the hospital is trying to cut the clause to sell the nursing home and implement layoffs.
The strike authorization does not mean a strike will take place. The union would have to formally notify the hospital before a strike begins.
Ms. Ackman told the Mesabi Daily News the hospital has not received a strike notice, and hoped to avoid a walkout.
However, the hospital is preparing a contingency plan in the event a walkout occurs, according to the report.