Health unit coordinators at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park are drawing a clear line in the sand: they say they will walk off the job for up to three days beginning May 27 if contract talks do not move forward. The strike authorization vote passed by an overwhelming margin, and workers say they are prioritizing higher pay, pension protections, and retroactive pay for 2025. Both hospital leadership and union negotiators say they would rather land a deal than stage a showdown, but each side is quietly preparing for a tightly timed walkout if bargaining stalls.
According to SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, negotiations so far have centered on wage-scale placement, shift differentials, and pension language, and the union’s campaign page tracks a running series of proposals and counterproposals. As reported by KARE 11, roughly 95% of voting members backed the strike authorization, and the bargaining unit covers about 85 health unit coordinators at the hospital. The union says its executive board has already signed off on wage replacement for members who picket while negotiations continue.
What workers want
Health unit coordinators say their core goals are equitable placement on the wage scale, enrollment in the SEIU pension plan, and retroactive pay for 2025. They also want to preserve shift differentials and ensure that their prior experience hours are credited correctly when it comes to step placement. “HUCs like me are willing to go on a ULP strike if we don’t see movement on critical issues like joining the union pension plan, winning retro pay and ensuring differential pay,” Erin Neary told KARE 11. Union negotiators say they have already nailed down tentative agreements on several non-economic parts of the contract, but the big-ticket economic items remain unresolved.
Legal timeline and filings
Federal records show that unfair labor practice issues tied to Park Nicollet have reached the National Labor Relations Board, which lists Park Nicollet Health Services in a recent case filing on the NLRB case docket. The agency explains that Section 8(g) of the National Labor Relations Act requires unions in health care to provide at least 10 days of written notice to both the facility and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service before a strike at a health-care institution. That rule is intended to protect patient care and leave room for last-minute negotiations, according to the agency’s guidance on strikes. In practice, it means any walkout here would be tightly scripted and aimed at short-term leverage rather than an open-ended stoppage.
Why this matters locally
Health unit coordinators manage the clerical backbone of hospital units, handling admissions, orders, and communications, work that unions say is essential to safe patient operations and that hospital managers count on every day. The Park Nicollet dispute is unfolding as bargaining activity at Twin Cities hospitals has been heating up this spring, with other groups, including nurses at Maple Grove, authorizing strike notices in recent weeks, as reported by FOX 9. If HUCs do hit the picket line, hospitals typically roll out contingency staffing plans that prioritize emergency care while managers and traveling staff are shifted to cover key roles.
What’s next
Union leaders say they plan to stay at the bargaining table throughout the legally required notice period, even as they map out picket schedules and logistics. If no agreement is reached in time, members have authorized a strike of up to three days beginning May 27. SEIU campaign materials indicate the unit could pursue a short-term agreement to lock in immediate gains, then fold into Park Nicollet’s existing SEIU contract framework for longer-term protections. Park Nicollet did not immediately issue a public statement when asked for comment, and filings along with the union’s updates indicate both sides remain in negotiations as the late-May strike window approaches.
