Allina, nurses' union to meet Monday with Dayton

Gov. Dayton called the meeting at the governor's mansion in hopes of ending the strike.

October 10, 2016 at 3:55PM
State Sen. Foung Hawj, DFL-St. Paul, and Rep. Ray Dehn, DFL-Minneapolis, joined nurses picketing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis Monday afternoon. Two dozen state lawmakers joined the Minnesota Nurses Association to offer their support to striking nurses.
State Sen. Foung Hawj, DFL-St. Paul, and Rep. Ray Dehn, DFL-Minneapolis, joined nurses picketing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis Monday afternoon. Two dozen state lawmakers joined the Minnesota Nurses Association to offer their support to striking nurses. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Representatives from the Minnesota Nurses Association and Allina Health will meet with Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith at 11 a.m. Monday in hopes of resolving the nurse's strike.

For five weeks, the Dayton administration and federal mediators have been meeting separately with both sides.

On Monday, "both sides are asked to continue meeting at the residence until their remaining differences are resolved in a way that puts patient care first," according to a statement from the governor's office.

Representatives from both sides confirmed they will attend.

"We thank the Governor and Lt. Governor for their involvement, and we look forward to the session," said David Kanihan, Allina's spokesman, in a text.

Allina and the union have been unable to agree on health insurance. Allina wants to eliminate four union-backed health plans and move nurses to its corporate health plans. Nurses have battled to keep the plans, which charge high upfront premiums but cost less when nurses and their families get sick.

Nurses voted last week to reject the most recent plan put forth by negotiators, and they returned to the picket lines that have been up at five Twin Cities hospitals since Labor Day.

Erin Adler • 612-673-1781

about the writer

about the writer

Erin Adler

Reporter

Erin Adler is a suburban reporter covering Dakota and Scott counties for the Minnesota Star Tribune, working breaking news shifts on Sundays. She previously spent three years covering K-12 education in the south metro and five months covering Carver County.

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