Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Duluth health-care workers urge council to press Essentia to negotiate as strikes continue
Summary
Multiple speakers, including clinic nurses and advanced practice providers, asked Duluth city councilors to urge Essentia Health to bargain in good faith after months of stalled talks and alleged unfair labor practices.
Several health-care workers addressed the Duluth City Council during public comment, asking elected officials to urge Essentia Health (referred to in testimony as Essentia/Ascension) to return to the bargaining table with certified unions.
Sandy Robbins, a registered nurse, described her years of experience caring for people with diabetes and said clinic nurses at Essentia voted to unionize in February 2024. Robbins said, after “nearly a year of failed negotiations,” staff decided to undertake an unfair labor practice strike to press Essentia to bargain. She said Essentia repeatedly canceled or refused to schedule bargaining sessions and, as recently as the week before the council meeting, told union members it could not schedule another bargaining meeting until “as late as July 28.” Robbins asked councilors to urge Essentia’s leadership, including CEO David Herman, to negotiate in good faith.
Jenna Cobell (identified in testimony as an advanced practice provider and member of the Minnesota Nurses Association APP union) told the council the union represents hundreds of APPs across Essentia facilities and said Essentia’s tactics were “thinly veiled attempts at union busting.” Cobell said more than 40 Minnesota legislators had signed a letter urging Essentia to respect the National Labor Relations Board’s certification of the union and to come to the table. She asked councilors to use their influence—citing local tax breaks that an Essentia nonprofit receives—to press the system to bargain.
Councilor Dirwachter thanked the speakers and said she supported the nurses’ work; other councilors also expressed concern during later discussion about Essentia’s bargaining posture. No formal council action was taken during the meeting on the labor requests; speakers circulated sign-on letters for councilors to add their names.
Speakers asked the council not to take a position on bargaining demands but to urge Essentia to negotiate promptly so nurses and APPs could return to patient care. They framed the dispute as a labor-management impasse that affects patient access and staff morale.
