Sanford Health Bemidji (Minn.) and the Minnesota Nurses Association are meeting Thursday for the sixth time to attempt to reach a contract agreement, according to a Bemidji Pioneer report.
Negotiations between the two groups started in November 2013, and the most recent contract expired Feb. 28. Not much progress has been made toward an agreement yet, according to the report.
There are two major issues being discussed: health insurance coverage and lack of sick time for the nurses. A union bargaining team leader told the Bemidji Pioneer there are "policies that are in place that make nurses afraid to call in when they're feeling ill or…their families are feeling ill." Namely, that nurses could face disciplinary action if they call in sick more than three times in a year.
A health system leader said Sanford doesn't have specific sick day policies, and instead has policies governing "unplanned time off." If an employee takes 40 hours of unplanned time, he or she would receive a verbal reminder, but could be terminated if he or she continues to take unplanned time off. The attendance policy has been in place since August 2012, according to the report.
After Thursday's negotiations, the next session will take place in April.
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