(St. Paul) - Twin Cities nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association ratified its contract today with health care systems represented by the Minnesota Hospitals Association.   The three-year agreement is effective June 1, 2013  – May 31, 2016 and impacts 12,000 nurses working in 13 different facilities in the metro area.

Nurses have agreed to a contract that will increase wages by 4.5% over three years     “When they approached us, we saw a great opportunity for an efficient process that would be good for our communities and our patients,” said MNAPresident, Linda Hamilton.

Both parties agreed prior to entering the negotiations to bargain over wages only. Doing so ensured for both sides, all current language, including clauses related to important nursing practice standards, remain intact.

“This is a fair contract that will play one part in helping nurses direct     our attention to our most important work of keeping patients safe,” said MNA President Linda Hamilton, RN, BSN.

The systems and hospitals involved in the contract are:

• Allina (Abbott Northwestern/Phillips Eye Institute, United, Unity, Mercy)
• Fairview (Southdale, Riverside)
• Children’s Hospitals and Clinics (Minneapolis, St. Paul)
• HealthEast (Bethesda, St. John’s, St. Joseph’s)
• North Memorial Medical Center
• Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital

About MNA

With more than 20,000 members in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin, MNA is the leading organization for registered nurses in the Midwest and is among the oldest and largest representatives of RNs for collective bargaining in the nation. Established in 1905, MNA is a multi-purpose organization that fosters high standards for nursing education and practice, and works to advance the     profession through legislative activity.  MNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United.

About NNU

National Nurses United, with close to 185,000 members in every state, is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in U.S. history.

NNU was founded in 2009 unifying three of  the most active, progressive organizations in the U.S.—and the major voices  of unionized nurses—in the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, United American Nurses, and Massachusetts Nurses Association.

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