Largest strike of private sector nurses in US history began on Monday (September 12) with about 15,000 nurses in Minnesota and Wisconsin hospitals demanding better work conditions and higher wages.
Strikes in the United States have occurred regularly over the past year, with employees reporting to be exhausted by working during the Covid-19 pandemic and struggling with price rises.
A spokesperson for the Minnesota Nurses Association said that the three-day stoppage was to last until Thursday morning. Minnesota Nurses Association is co-ordinating the action.
Holding signs bearing messages such as “Patients Before Profits,” employees gathered in groups in the early morning hours to protest outside some of the 16 affected hospitals, according to photographs the union posted online.
Hospitals have planned to continue providing care, albeit with possible disruptions.
AFP quoted North Memorial Hospital in Minnesota which said it “may be making some adjustments to non-emergency care and services to ensure adequate and safe staffing during the strike period.”
However the hospital said that it will contnue to offer “full range of services”
The two sides have been negotiating for more than five months, without reaching an agreement.
“Right now in Minnesota, nurses are overworked, hospitals are understaffed, and patients are overcharged,” MNA said in a statement.
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