Deer River Essentia workers file strike notice again

An update related to the ongoing tension between Essentia Health and members of the SEIU who work in Deer River.

The union has filed notice that they will begin an open-ended strike starting December 9th if no agreement is reached before that date.

There is another negotiating session set for Wednesday.

Sarah Roberts, a 20+ year healthcare worker who has been a Certified Surgical Tech at Deer River for nearly three years and part of the bargaining team, shared her perspective on why workers are taking step:

“Despite many bargaining sessions, we are still not close to getting us to competitive wages. We do the same work as other facilities and are tired of not getting paid the same. We felt so supported by the community and other unions during our November strike, but clearly we aren’t feeling that same level of support from our employer with so little movement at the bargaining table. We’ve seen such a reduction in staffing levels and are so overworked. It is unacceptable that we are so undervalued. It seems like in order for them to take us seriously we are having to take this step to file for this ULP strike.”

The group held a strike in early November, but said subsequent bargaining has seen the employer refusing to back off key issues including:

1) management’s proposal to allow non-unit workers to float in to do work (including at higher rates of pay) in a manner that would undermine longtime union workers in the community
2) sub-standard wage proposals that do not recognize the essential work done by these workers and do not address lost buying power from inflation over the past 3 years. The employer’s proposals are 5% less – on average- than what has been agreed to by all other Minnesota Health systems that reached agreements this year.

The group brings together 70 workers who work in the hospital and nursing home/long term care. The two sides have been bargaining since August, yet remain distant on big issues that workers see as critical in ensuring there are enough staff to do this important work providing world-class patient and resident care.

Jobs done by the group include: Nutrition Services Assistant, Activity Aide, Laundry Aide, Environmental Service Tech, Sterile Processing Tech, Cook, Nursing Assistant – LTC, Nursing Assistant (Hosp.Acute Care, HUC Duties), Health Unit Coordinator (HUC), Phlebotomist, Pharmacy Tech, LPN, Med Lab Tech, Maintenance I, Surgical Tech, Floor Care Tech, Medical Tech, Radiology Tech and more.