DEER RIVER — Union workers at Essentia Health-Deer River began a planned five-day strike Monday, Nov. 4, after failing to reach an agreement with the health care organization.
Over a dozen employees picketed a block from the hospital on busy Division Street on Monday.
More than 70 Service Employees International Union members voted to authorize a strike earlier last month, and the union gave notice of the potential work stoppage Oct. 25.
Essentia Health said there will be no interruptions to emergency services, surgical care, outpatient clinic care or long-term elder care during the strike, though it anticipates no new inpatient hospital admissions.
The two sides have been bargaining since August.
Janelle Denny works in sterile processing and has been with the hospital for nearly five years. She said they feel disrespected by what Essentia has brought to the table.
“When we negotiated, they came back at a 33-cent increase,” she said. “Thirty-three cents doesn’t pay my bills, I don’t know about yours?”
Denny said Essentia’s next proposal included pay cuts, and that was the union’s final straw.
“It was just a slap in the face,” she said. “So that’s why we’re here.”
Essentia Health-Deer River Administrator Amanda Reed said the provider’s proposal was a starting point with a new wage structure.
“But never was it the intentions of Essentia to have pay cuts,” she said. “Never.”
In a news release shared Monday, Essentia said when the union filed its strike notice, it requested a 55% wage increase over the next three years. In its next proposal, the union reduced demands by 3.3% in the first year and kept the increases the same in the other years.
“[The wages] are unrealistic, and it’s not sustainable,” Reed said.
“That’s the biggest issue right now is these types of wages are not sustainable for a rural health care center. There’s no way we could continue providing the care that we do.”
Essentia points to many patients in rural Minnesota being on Medicare or Medicaid, and the reimbursement rates are only a portion of the cost of care.
Rasha Ahmad Sharif is the executive vice president and director of long-term care and greater Minnesota hospitals and clinics for SEIU of Minnesota and Iowa. She likened the connection between workers and Essentia and other health care employers to a toxic relationship and said it's always the same message in different flavors.
“The same message of, ‘We appreciate you. You do so great. You care,’ and ‘Our hands are tied. We can’t do anything more,’” she explained. “ ... Even though they say patients and nonprofits, it’s all about the money.”
In response, Reed said the messaging mix-up in this case comes from starting with an unrealistic ask.
“[The difference] doesn’t compute well,” she said. “It makes members maybe feel like we’re undervaluing them, but we have to start somewhere, too.”
Reed said negotiations can get “hairy and maybe uncomfortable,” but the two sides need to keep coming to the table for difficult conversations.
The next bargaining session is set for Wednesday.
