Essential Health and the Association of Minnesota Nurses (MNA) have concluded a line agreement on a new three-year contract covering 28 nurses at Essentia Health-Sandstone.
The agreement recognizes the exceptional contributions of our nurses to provide care for expert patients while ensuring that these jobs remain among the best in sandstone and surrounding communities.
The proposed contract includes floating crossed facilities, a model of care that gives nurses the choice To take a quarter of work in another Essential establishment to better meet the needs of patients. The provision also allows nurses of other Essential installations to fill sandstone changes to provide support. The floating of cross -facility is completely voluntary. In 2024 alone, Essentia has ratified more than 20 contracts with individual union groups. Nine of these contracts included a similar transverse floating language.
The provisional agreement has the complete recommendation of the MNA negotiation committee. A vote should take place on March 7.
The agreement also includes salary increases each year of the contract, with an adjustment of the market during the first year, which aligns salaries with nurses near Lake Moose. Wages would increase 3.5% in the second and third years of the contract. During the last year of the agreement, the sandstone nurses who work 40 hours per week will have an annual salary between $ 85,400 and $ 127,100, depending on the years of service.
Essential and MNA have worked with diligence for months to reach an agreement that supports nurses and retains access to high quality rural care near our patients in and around sandstone.
Essential maintains contracts with 54 organized negotiation units, which cover around 6,500 employees.