GET THE FACTS

We’re committed to sharing facts to help you make an informed personal decision about union representation.

The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) wants to win the right to be the collective bargaining representative for registered nurses working in some Essentia Health ambulatory clinics. In Dec. 2023 and Feb. 2024, the union filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking elections at Duluth Clinic 1^st St. Building and Duluth Clinic 2^nd St. Building. The MNA may want to file additional NLRB petitions to represent registered nurses at other Essentia Health clinics.

What does this mean for you?

This site is dedicated to sharing facts about unionization for nurses working at clinics where petitions for election are already filed and for all nurses working at any Essentia Health clinic. Our goal is to help you make a fully informed, personal decision about unionization based on facts, not promises or rumors.

Facts to Know about Collective Bargaining

When a union is elected to represent a group of employees (i.e., a “bargaining unit”), the employer and the union are legally required to engage in collective bargaining. During this process, both sides must meet with a good faith intention to reach a collective bargaining agreement (i.e., a contract). Here are key points to know about collective bargaining:

“Good faith” bargaining means simply that the employer and union agree to meet at mutually agreeable times and places with a good faith intention to reach a contract agreement.
The employer and union are required to bargain over wages, benefits, hours of work, schedules, and all other terms and conditions of employment.
Collective bargaining is like any other negotiation (e.g., buying a house or a new car). No one can predict what the outcome will be
The law does not require either the employer or the union to agree to proposals presented the other party.
The law allows that, through good-faith bargaining – employees can get more, but they can also keep the same things they have now, or they can end up with less than they have now.
All of this means union promises are just that – promises, not guarantees. The unions may make promises (e.g., more money, better benefits, stronger voice, etc.), but the union can’t legally guarantee any promise will come true.

Mandatory Topics of Bargaining versus Other Topics

Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) some topics are “mandatory” and must be discussed during negotiations; other topics are not required topics of bargaining under the NLRA. Here are examples:

Topics Parties Must Bargain Over	Topics Parties are NOT Obligated to Bargain Over
Under the NLRA, “terms and conditions of employment” are the only topics that must be negotiated during collective bargaining. No one can predict the outcome; nurses can get more, keep the same, or get less than they have now. Required topics of bargaining include:	Under the NLRA, the union can ask for anything, but the union cannot force Essentia to bargain over issues related to how we manage our clinics, including:
– Pay – Benefits – Paid time off – Floating/low census – Scheduling – Discipline process	– Nurse recruiting/hiring – Number of nurses Essentia employs – Patient care policies – Patient care procedures – Patient safety procedures – Patient volume – Essentia business strategy – Essentia leadership – Communication – Service line offerings – Operational decision making

Your Financial Cost = MNA’s Financial Gain

Regardless of the outcome of bargaining (more, same, less) the MNA would still expect any MNA-represented nurse to pay monthly dues or service fees.

Currently, the MNA earns roughly $1,830,000.00 annually from Essentia Health nurses already represented by the MNA. That’s nearly $5.5 million dollars over a single three-year contract.

This might explain why the MNA wants to represent more Essentia nurses. More MNA-represented nurses = more money paid by nurses to the MNA.

Here are facts to know:

If the union is elected, all eligible voters become members of the new “bargaining unit,” regardless of whether they supported the union.
The MNA charges $76.20 in monthly dues (or service fees). This equals $914.40 per year.
Under current MNA practice, bargaining unit members who don’t become official MNA members are still required to pay “service fees” to cover non-members’ share of MNA representation. These are nearly equal to monthly member dues.
Bargaining unit members who hold any FTE (unless casual nurses) are typically required to pay the full dues/service fees amount; there is no discount for part-time status.
Member dues and non-member service fees are usually automatically deducted from bargaining unit members’ paychecks.

Potential Downsides of Unionization to Consider

Besides the impact of union dues/service fees to nurses’ take-home pay, unionization comes with potential downsides to consider. Some are potential restrictions that differ from how we do things now; others are potential impacts to our patients’ ability to access care.

Consider these facts:

Risk of Lost Flexibility: Under a collective bargaining agreement, leaders could lose the flexibility to honor personal scheduling requests, FTE status changes, shift trades, etc.

Risk of Rigid Seniority Rules: Most union contracts include rigid seniority rules that dictate things like schedule requests, floating, VTO guidelines, FTE status changes, promotions, transfers, workforce utilization, etc. with preferential treatment for those with the most seniority.

Risk of Changes to Things You Like: During collective bargaining, all required terms and conditions of employment must be bargained and are subject to change (more, same, less). This means bargaining could change or discontinue things you might now like and may not want to see changed.

Risk to Our Patients’ Ability to Access Care: Essentia has experienced first-hand what happens when negotiations break down and unions – like the MNA – call nurses out on strike. Strikes disrupt patients’ access to care and compromise community trust. And strikes can damage teamwork if/when colleagues disagree about walking away from patients to strike.