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More than four months after mental health workers took to the picket lines at MHealth’s Fairview and Allina hospitals, they plan to strike again.
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa have filed a strike notice beginning Monday, October 3rd.
“We’re not making the progress we want,” said Kelly Benson, senior mental health coordinator at Abbott Northwest.
She is part of the union’s negotiating team and explained that they are pushing for improved safety, including higher labor standards.
“We have a problem with short staffing which can lead to maintenance issues,” Benson said. “If we have people going through something big and having a difficult time and we have people acting out violently or violently, we can’t take care of the patient in the ward and the patient who is struggling.”
Mental health workers hit the picket lines in May and are now considering a walkout again (KSTP).
The damage to the community during the outbreak has led to more patients and more severe cases, Benson said.
The union argues that wage increases are another important element in meeting demand.
“With higher pay, it attracts more qualified people to come into the field and increase that workforce,” she said. “Nowadays, getting this job is not sustainable. Sometimes I can’t even pay the rent for this low paying job.
In a statement, the health system said, “Alina Health values ​​our employees and recognizes the critical services that senior mental health coordinators provide to the community. Since you chose to form a union, we have spoken in good faith 18 times. It is common for newly established bargaining units to take more than a year on average to reach an agreement on their first contract. When SEIU went on strike in May, there are more bargaining sessions this week and in October to help the parties reach an agreement and avoid a strike that did not precede our negotiations.
Throughout the negotiations, Allina Health offered an economical package that offered competitive compensation and additional benefits. On behalf of other Allina Health employees, we presented the same language the union agreed to regarding workplace safety. Hitting doesn’t help anyone. But if there is no settlement, we will be ready to take care of our community.
“We share the desire of our Psychiatrists, Senior Psychiatrists and Behavioral Assistants to work in an environment where they feel safe,” MHealth Fairview said in a statement. We have negotiated in good faith with our staff over the past 9 months to agree on a contract that supports our staff and provides the highest quality care to our patients. We have made significant progress, including reaching 17 interim agreements.
Healthcare organizations across the country are in the midst of a dual staffing and mental health crisis. We will continue to negotiate in good faith with our colleagues to reach an agreement that all parties believe is fair and just. Safe patient care is a priority and we are currently working on an emergency plan. If no agreement is reached next week, care will continue to be provided by our inpatient mental health unit.
The planned 3-day strike is set to begin three weeks after nearly 15,000 members of the Minnesota Nurses Association walked off the job for three days. The MNA strike affected seven health care systems, including Allina and MHealth Fairview.
“I think we’re really seeing something new,” said labor historian Peter Rachleff. “These strikes are actually protests or demonstrations, a rallying cry for people to pay attention to what’s going on.”
In the past two years, he said, we’ve seen front-line workers organize in a variety of industries, from hospital workers to grocery store workers, baristas and railroad workers.
“This year has been a particularly active year in terms of organizing and hitting,” Rachleff said. The pandemic has created certain kinds of stress that make it more difficult and stressful for people to do their jobs.
Citing the example of railway workers, he said, “Employees have struggled for 30 years against an ever-shrinking employment structure so time off – doctor’s appointments, funerals, weddings, graduations – were all at a premium.” […] The pandemic has made it feel like a crisis, not just something you have to grit your teeth and bear.
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