About 65 hospice nurses at Allina Health have filed a 10-day strike notice and circled July 6 for a picket line, saying stalled contract talks and blocked pay bumps have left them without the time and resources they need to deliver quality end-of-life care. The nurses say they will picket outside Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Allina’s corporate offices in south Minneapolis, the latest flashpoint as several bargaining units across the system push for raises and staffing protections.
According to KARE-TV, the unit filed its 10-day notice this week and set July 6 as the start of picketing at Abbott Northwestern and Allina’s south Minneapolis corporate site. The union also locked in a meeting with Allina leadership for June 26. Hospice nurse Susie Smerz told KARE-TV that members were denied their annual wage increases and added, "We don't feel valued, and we don't feel heard."
Nurses and their demands
The hospice nurses are represented by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, which has been active in multiple Allina negotiations and has repeatedly turned to 10-day notices when talks have stalled. Per SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, members are pressing for interim raises during bargaining, protections for work-life balance and more time and resources to support patients and families at the end of life.
Allina says bargaining continues
Allina Health’s public bargaining updates indicate talks are still underway, with the system putting proposals on the table this spring that touch on recognition, scheduling and practice issues. In a June 3 bargaining update, Allina outlined its next steps and said additional follow-up sessions were planned as negotiations continue.
What a 10-day notice means
Federal law requires unions to give at least 10 days' written notice before striking or picketing at a health care institution, and that notice has to go both to the employer and to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the National Labor Relations Board explains. Unfair labor practice (ULP) strikes can be legally protected, but the 10-day rule and other limits on health care picketing are designed to lower the risk to patient care, even when labor tensions run high.
Why this matters locally
Allina has been in the spotlight for several high-profile labor fights lately. Primary care clinicians represented by Doctors Council-SEIU reached a tentative agreement in April after lengthy negotiations, and other groups within the system have at times voted to authorize strikes. The hospice nurses’ plan to picket adds another front in that system-wide pressure campaign and puts a spotlight on clinicians who handle both home- and hospital-based end-of-life services.
The union says it will sit down with Allina leadership on June 26, and if pickets proceed on July 6, nurses plan to rally outside Abbott Northwestern and Allina’s corporate headquarters to press for raises, staffing protections and more time for patient care, per KARE-TV. This story will be updated as either side announces new developments.
