Nurses reached a tentative agreement Saturday on a new three-year contract with Children's Minnesota and its Minneapolis and St. Paul hospitals — a deal they say includes a "huge win" on health insurance costs.
The deal came together at 5:13 a.m. and prompted the nurses to withdraw the threat of a strike made possible by a strike-authorization vote Thursday.
"We're very relieved we were able to come to an agreement," said Trisha Ochsner, a nurse at Children's Minneapolis who was part of the negotiating team.
The 21-hour negotiations session also found Children's and the nurses agreeing to wage increases of 3%, 3% and 2.25% for the next three years. Contract deals negotiated in 2010, 2013 and 2016 offered no more than 2% increases annually.
In a statement, Children's also cited efforts to improve workplace safety as part of a package that it says included many accomplishments.
"Our goal from the start was to come to an agreement that works for everyone," Katie Penson, senior director of clinical services for critical care, was quoted in the statement as saying. "We successfully accomplished this."
Nurses resumed talks Friday with the intention of holding off on the setting of a potential strike date until the session was completed. Children's had said it was surprised by the strike-authorization vote and thought it unnecessary.
Sydney Pederson, a nurse at Children's St. Paul and a member of the negotiating team, said she believed Children's had greater motivation to cut a deal as a result of the strike vote. Nurses made clear they were "committed to bargaining for as long as it took," she said.
