Tue, Oct 3rd, 2023 - 6:18am
December 02, 2022 - 7:29am | By Kyle Cornell
(Minneapolis, MN) -- Thousands of nurses in Minnesota are planning to go on strike for the second time this year.
That's according to the Minnesota Nurses Association, a union that represents about 15-thousand workers.
The group says it voted "overwhelmingly" Wednesday to walk off the job on December 11th at more than a dozen hospitals statewide.
Governor Tim Walz says he is hoping to help hospitals and nurses avoid the second strike. Walz says the situation is challenging and that hospitals are already struggling to keep up with the inflow of patients with respiratory diseases. The governor says it is his main priority to ensure that Minnesotans can get proper health care and hospitalization supported by adequate staff. He says he's also concerned with protecting the needs of the staff.
Working conditions and staffing issues are at the center of the complaints. The first strike was held back in October and lasted three days. The union says this time it's prepared to strike for 20 days.
