Nurses at Essentia Health-Duluth Clinic 2nd Street today celebrated a unanimous vote to form a union, represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association. Nurses filed for election in late January and cast their ballots today.
“We are excited to be union nurses and to gain a voice in our workplace so that we can continue to provide high-quality, safe patient care,” said Holly Swedberg, a registered nurse at Duluth Clinic 2nd Street. “As we take the next steps toward negotiating our first contract, we look forward to a more equitable, respectful workplace and to develop solutions that will help recruit and retain nurses at our clinic.”
Nurses at Essentia Health-Duluth Clinic 2nd Street saw the need to unionize to be able to collaboratively negotiate employment terms, work conditions, and patient care standards, leading to greater job satisfaction, nurse retention, and quality patient care.
The new MNA member nurses at Duluth Clinic 2nd Street join nurses at the Allina Health Cancer Institute who also voted to unionize with MNA this week, as well as their fellow nurses at Essentia Health-Duluth Clinic 1st Street who voted to join MNA earlier this month. The nurses join the 22,000-strong members of MNA in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and North Dakota.
Essentia East Market Advanced Practice Providers have also filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize with MNA and are working to get to a vote despite continued resistance and roadblocks from Essentia executives.
QUOTE ME, HOWIE
Hermantown boys basketball coach Andy Fenske on the two-time defending Section 7AAA champion Hawks – "As we look ahead to playoffs starting up next week, I like where we're sitting as a team. We're playing some of our best basketball right now, not just on the offensive side, but our defensive execution has been taking huge leaps forward for us. We'll know Saturday who our first opponent is going to be as well as the potential path we have going forward. Our boys have worked hard to be at the top of the section right now, but we know that all it takes is one off night and anyone can beat anyone in our section. I wouldn't be shocked to see a handful of 'upsets' in the first round. Any of the other seven coaches will tell you that it's only an upset by seeding, this is the most competitive our section has been, top to bottom, in many years. We're going to rely strongly on our upperclassmen who have been a part of our previous playoff runs to get us through the tough times ahead. March Madness is coming and it's truly the most wonderful time of the year."
PREP SPORTS NOTEBOOK
Senior Dane Callaway stopped all 27 shots to backstop Hermantown past Hibbing/Chisholm 4-0 in the Section 7A high school boys hockey championship game tonight at Amsoil Arena.
Four different players scored goals for the Hawks, who advance to the Class A state tournament starting next Wednesday against a yet-to-be-determined opponent at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
HowieHanson.com 2024 Section 7A Boys Hockey All-Tournament Team
F – River Freeman, Hermantown
F – Tanner Ross, Proctor
F – Tate Swanson, Hibbing/Chisholm
D – Henry Peterson, Hermantown
D – Jackson Strukel, Hibbing-Chisholm
G – Dane Callaway, Hermantown
