On Wednesday, Essentia-Sandstone nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association voted to authorize an unfair labor practices strike if contract negotiations continue to stall.
According to a news release from the Minnesota Nurses Association, their contract expired on Aug. 1, 2024, and bargaining efforts have been going on since July of last year.
The vote empowers the negotiating team to call a strike following a ten-day notice to the hospital.
The release states that staff retention, wages, and an Essentia proposal for cross-facility floating, which would rotate nurses between facilities, are points of contention in the negotiations.
The parties will return to the negotiating table on Feb. 10.