EXPLAINED: Why Did Thousands Of Minnesota Nurses Go On Strike? Know Reasons Here.

Walking off the jobs on September 12, Monday, approximately 15,000 nurses in Minnesota are showing their disapproval and protesting against hospital understaffing. Their union has expressed concerns over patients saying that patient care has been greatly harmed due to understaffing. Moreover, less staff meant a great workload on nurses on duty, leading to exhaustion of the health workers. The union negotiates a new contract with hospital executives.

The Minnesota Nurses Association calls this strike one of the largest strikes in the history of the United States. It also throws light on the shortage of nationwide health workers, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The union has been negotiating a new agreement for a span of more than 5 months. The nursing staff has been working sans a contract for weeks.

The union’s negotiating team expressed that, "Hospital executives have already driven nurses away from the bedside by their refusal to solve the crises of staffing and retention in our hospitals." The team also said that the nursing staff was "understaffed and overworked."

On the other side are the hospitals that are bearing the brunt of the aggressive walkout. It was expected that the strike would affect around 13 hospitals neighboring St. Paul. and around Minneapolis. The Twin Cities Hospital Group, the group overseeing around 4 hospitals where the nursing staff has walked out, expressed that it urged the nurses’ union to join them in mediation.

The group, however, stated that the nurses’ union did not agree to its mediation requests. "A trained mediator can help parties focus on the key elements needed to move forward together. However, the nurses' union has rejected all our requests for mediation,", the group mentioned on its official website.

Additionally, a group that owns four hospitals where the nurses have gone on strike, Allina Health, too stated on its official website that it was making a constant effort to reduce disruptions to patient care.

The U.S. lawmakers in Washington including Senator Bernie Sanders too show their support for the nurse strike.

Employment in healthcare across the U.S. is below the pre-pandemic levels, as per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), giving rise to problems like overworked staff and understaffed hospitals.