Nursing Home Workers Go On One-Day Strike
Union nurses and healthcare workers walked off the job on Tuesday, March 5, picketing a dozen senior living facilities around the Twin Cities, including Saint Therese in New Hope.
The healthcare worker’s union and Saint Therese have been negotiating contracts for more than seven months.
The union is asking for a $25-an-hour starting wage.
“It’s difficult, and we put our heart into it to take care of the residents,” said Monyou Taye, a nursing assistant in the picket line at Saint Therese. “And it’s a lot of work, so we need that respect and we need to get paid better — more staffing so we can be able to get the job done.”
Striking healthcare workers and nurses form a picket line outside Saint Therese in New Hope.
Contract Negotiations Continue
In a press release, Saint Therese CEO and President Craig Abbott said the state legislature needs help fund wage increases.
Abbott noted that the organization lobbied for increased funding at the Capitol during the 2023 legislative session.
“The legislature chose to provide only one-time funding to support our nursing homes,” Abbott said. “In short, the temporary resources are insufficient to pay for the cost of ongoing wages and benefits.”
Abbott said Saint Therese spent $7.5 million last year to improve wages and benefits.
“We have been in negotiations with the union for more than seven months, and given ongoing posturing and unrealistic demands, we knew that a strike could potentially result,” Abbott said. “For that reason, we have developed detailed plans to ensure the care of our residents is not affected by a strike.”
Meanwhile, Taye said she believes Saint Therese can afford to give healthcare workers a pay raise.
“The more the pay, or the better they pay us, the better they treat us, the better the company’s going to get,” Taye said. “They’re going to have more residents or more people are going to come here.”
Healthcare workers at Saint Therese are expected to return to work on Wednesday.
