Minn. hospital workers weigh strike

Unionized workers at eight Twin Cities hospitals -- including nursing assistants, food service employees and other support staff -- are taking a vote on whether to strike over management's contract offer.

(St. Paul) Pioneer Press: Twin Cities Hospital Workers Voting Whether To Strike 
As unionized hospital workers started voting Monday, May 14 on whether to authorize a two- to five-day strike, medical centers in the Twin Cities issued a statement saying they would receive a minimum 10-day notice before any such strike might occur. …  Hospitals said they are seeking "reasonable changes to the current contract to be good stewards of our limited resources." They also are seeking flexibility "to adapt to an ever-changing health care world," the medical centers said.  But in a statement issued Monday, a union official said the changes would mean that workers who agreed to a wage freeze three years ago now would be asked to "survive on even less" (Snowbeck, 5/14).

Minneapolis Star Tribune: Workers At 8 Twin Cities Hospitals Take Strike Vote
Nursing assistants, food service workers and support staff at eight Twin Cities hospitals are voting this week on whether to authorize a two- to five-day strike. … Tee McClenty, the union's chief negotiator, said the members are upset by concession demands from the hospitals that could increase their individual health insurance costs by thousands of dollars. She also said the two sides are far apart on wages (Lerner, 5/14).