Day 2 of nurses strike across Twin Cities, Twin Ports underway

Tuesday marks the second day of a three-day nurses strike.

The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) says their members returned to the picket lines at 7 a.m.

Our sister station 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has learned there were no negotiations between the MNA and hospitals on the first day of the statewide strike.

The MNA is calling their strike the largest in Minnesota history; a reported 15,000 nurses are walking the picket lines across the state at more than a dozen hospitals in the Twin Cities and up to the Duluth area.

There are seven healthcare provider groups that are the focus during the three-day strike.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS cameras captured nurses walking the picket line outside of Abbott Northwestern hospital Monday evening.

The nurses’ union says they are trying to negotiate for higher wages for their members and more say in how hospitals are staffed.

“We want to be able to say, based on the number of patients here and how sick they are, the acuity, this is the number of nurses we need to take care of them,” Kelley Anass, registered nurse with Abbott Northwestern Hospital, said.

Meanwhile, Paul Omodt, with Twin Cities Hospital Group, said, “We have offered the largest wage increase in 15 years, we’ve offered a 11-12% increase, but they remain at 29-30% which is unrealistic and unaffordable.”

Twin Cities Hospital Group represents four of the healthcare systems.

Providers told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS there aren’t any talks currently scheduled.

The nurses’ strike is scheduled to last until Thursday morning.