Our Platform.

Fighting Corporate Healthcare. Building a new coalition of nurses

Building Solidarity Across the Union

We believe in a strong union that is rooted in rank and file members. We must bridge the gap between Out-State, Twin Ports, and Metro bargaining units, and build our collective power. It is the solidarity of the 22,000 nurses that gives us power to negotiate strong contracts for all members. We are committed to give all members a voice in our union, and treat all members' concerns with respect regardless of the size of their bargaining unit. 

  • Build a process that fosters peer support and mentoring for chairs, stewards, and CAT

  • Invest in recruiting and mentoring our young and incoming generation of Nurses 

  • Establish a practice that allows for sharing of bargaining unit wins and challenges in an effort to learn from each other

  • Utilize coordinated bargaining to increase our power at all negotiation tables

Building an Organizing Union to Fight for Stronger Contracts

Our 2022 Metro/Duluth contract campaign success came as a result of the largest organizing effort ever undertaken at MNA. However, we are still working short staffed and in terrible conditions. This contributes to the crisis of burnout and turnover, impacting us and our patients. Building an organizing union is crucial to achieve enforceable standards in our contracts and the law, while opposing concessions and benefit cuts.

  • Create strong steward and CAT structures across the union

  • Create an organizing program to develop leaders throughout the union

  • Develop curriculum to educate members about the benefits of their union

  • Coordinate enforceable staffing proposals that support nursing judgment and management accountability

  • Ensure wages that remain above the increased cost of living, inflation, and potential economic downturns

  • Fight to decrease the burden of premiums for healthcare plans while maintaining competitive coverage

  • Prioritize contract language ensuring workplace violence prevention and protection

  • Fight to maintain our pension

  • Present proposals that prioritize continuing education, tuition reimbursement and student loan forgiveness

Building a Transparent and Democratic Union

MNA has always had structures that allow for member involvement, but all too often it is difficult for members to figure out how to get involved. At times our board of directors has made key decisions without explanation behind closed doors, not providing opportunities for meaningful input and feedback from members. We are determined to change this both by reforming MNA policies and changing the culture to maximize member participation. 

  • Reestablish our union democracy by ensuring transparency and a system for accountability of leadership and staff

  • Board of Directors that focuses on open communication with a plan to host a monthly open Zoom forum

  • Establish an ethics committee to oversee board decisions to ensure our Union is operating at the highest ethical standard without conflicts of interest and political power plays

  • Reform Board Policies, Bylaws, and Bargaining Unit Guidelines to allow democratic input from Chairs, Stewards, and rank-and-file members

Building Power to Fight Corporate Healthcare

The corporatization of healthcare hurts our communities, patients, nurses, and all healthcare workers. We all experience the effects of the profit-driven model when understaffing, mismanagement, and lack of resource allocation have left many of us to bear the responsibility of providing care. More importantly, mergers and acquisitions have left the most vulnerable communities without access to quality and affordable healthcare. In order to challenge these industry trends, we must organize our members to strengthen our ability to fight back. 

  • Engage in targeted pressure campaigns against corporate actors in the healthcare sector

  • Partner with community organizations and other unions to fight for an affordable and patient-centered healthcare system

  • Run powerful contract campaigns that simultaneously put pressure on healthcare executives, political leaders, and third-party corporate healthcare actors

Building Solidarity in Our Diverse Union

We believe that inequality related to race, sexual orientation and gender identity is a human rights issue. We must honor our diversity and embrace our differences. We need a union where all members feel valued, respected and supported. Too often, nurses of color and those from diverse communities are singled out, targeted, and discriminated against by management. Together we can fight back against unjust actions and move forward by building a union that works for all members regardless of race, birthplace, religion, sex, gender, or identity.

  • Create model contract language that addresses racial disparities faced by nurses of color, and fight to include that language in all contracts

  • Engage nurses from diverse backgrounds to better understand their struggles, needs, and develop contract language to address them

  • Establish an equity steward in each bargaining unit to support nurses of color, and to lead the bargaining unit’s fight for racial justice, equality, and equity

  • Strengthen our anti-racism training program for leaders and members.

  • Support programs to address implicit bias within our union

  • Partner with community organizations to fight for racial, social, and economic justice

Building Our Path Forward

We believe that our union needs to continue strengthening our force to protect the future of the nursing profession. Hospital leadership is requiring nurses to do more with less, jeopardizing nurse and patient safety. We must build a strong path forward for the next generation of nurses. We must instill the value of our collective bargaining. We also believe our union should go beyond our profession. The size and strength of our union provides us with the opportunity to create powerful coalitions that advance the cause of not just nurses, but all working people. We can move forward by taking a more proactive role in protecting our profession and building the labor movement.

  • Organize nurses to be engaged in an effort to pressure the legislature to pass laws that support nurse-driven staffing decisions and nurse retention

  • Build campaigns outside of the contract negotiation to push for safe staffing and nurse retention

  • Strengthen ties with healthcare workers in other unions and increased collaboration in contract and strategic campaigns

  • Support the labor movement by building relationships with unions outside of healthcare