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Bemidji nurses reject contract offer, vote to authorize strike

BEMIDJI, MINN. - Nurses at Sanford Bemidji Hospital rejected management's contract offer Thursday and instead voted to authorize a strike, the union said Thursday night.

"While progress has been made during these negotiations regarding safe staffing language, it's not enough for corporate executives to say, 'Trust us, we'll improve staffing,' and then leave it at that," said Peter Danielson, chairman of the Minnesota Nurses Association's bargaining team, which represents 230 RNs at Sanford Bemidji. "We need a commitment, in writing, from these hospital executives. We also cannot accept a concession-laden contract that cripples our ability to recruit and retain the type of top-notch, professional nurses the people of this community deserve."

Nurse leaders will meet in the coming days to determine their next steps. No strike date has been set, and federal labor law requires that hospitals be given a 10-day formal notice before a strike can take place.

Nurses and hospital management have been negotiating since April 2011. Sanford Health, which employs 18,000 workers in eight states, recently bought the Bemidji hospital, previously known as North Country Regional Hospital, and is negotiating its first contract with members of the Minnesota Nurses Association.

The nurses' current agreement expired Feb. 28.

 

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