Blog

Stewards

Stewards are trained volunteers located in each workplace that help make sure that our employers honor their contracts with us, and treat our members fairly.  We are always on the lookout for more stewards, so contact the Local's office if you're interested in finding out more about how you

Midwest Medical Contract Survey Review Mtg

To help prepare for the upcoming contract negotiations between Essentia's Midwest Medical Equipment & Suplly and the union, surveys have been sent out to all of the workers asking for what issues are most important to you and that you want the union negotiating committee to fight for.  We will be holding a meeting where you can drop off your surveys, ask any questions you may have and share what priorities you think we should have.  That meeting will be at 5:30pm on January 19 at the union office (2002 London Road in Duluth, Room 202).  All union members at Midwest Medical and welcome and encouraged to attend. 

LSCHC Support Staff Vote Down Tentative Agreement

The Support Staff at the Lake Superior Community Health Center have voted down the tentative agreement that had been reached between the company and the union's negotiating committee.  The negotiating committee will be going back to the table.

Before that though we're going to be holding a Town Hall meeting for all Support Staff workers to  attend and share what changes and improvements they'd like the committee to fight for.  The Town Hall will be on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 5:30pm.  It'll be held in Room 202 of the Duluth Labor Temple (2002 London Road).  Please attend if you can!

Vaccine Mandation Update

We are still in continuous talks with both St. Luke’s and Essentia Health.  There are going to be more discussions to come.  To date, neither employer has agreed to rescind their vaccine mandation or delay the deadlines, but they are both offering medical and religious exemptions, that from what we’ve seen, appear to be following the EEOC guidelines.  We plan to continue discussions about what constitutes an exemption, requirements for remote workers and of course, the upcoming federal government mandation guidelines that will be published by the CDC. 

Vaccine Religious Exemptions

ESSENTIA & ST. LUKE'S: If you have filed a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate of either Essentia Health or St. Luke's, and it has been denied, we ask that you reach out to the union to discuss your appeals options. You can reach us at [email protected], or by sending us a direct message here on facebook.

Red Book Ratified in Close Vote

In a very close vote, the new proposed Red Book contract at Essentia Health passed. We'd like to sincerely thank everyone that was able to come out and vote yesterday and today - especially those who offered feed back on the issues that concerned them. We are committed to continue to address all of those concerns going forward.

EH & SLH Vaccine Mandate Update

Essentia Health was unable to get the answers to our informational request on their COVID-19 vaccine mandate by Aug. 16. They are saying they will have it by Aug. 23. St. Luke's has yet to send us a written response to our informational request. We do have dates for both employers for when we will sit down and bargain over the mandate. For St. Luke's our meeting with the company will be August. 26. And for Essentia Health it will be Sept. 15.

LSCHC Professional Unit Ratifies Contract

The Professional Unit of Lake Superior Community Health Center voted unanimously to accept their new contract. Thanks to everyone who came out to vote! Contract negotiations for the Support Staff Unit of LSCHC will be starting up next. Stay tuned for an announcement about dates for that.

Red Book Tentative Agreement Summary & Vote

Attached is a PDF summary of the Red Book Tentative Agreement that the union and the company arrived at, including the proposed new wage grids.  We are also mailing these out to everyone, but feel free to download it here so as to be able to review it earlier.  We'll have complete word for word TAs available at the meetings.  This will be voted on by the Red Book membership on August 23 from 6am to 6:30pm and on August 24 from 6am to 7pm in the basement of the Duluth Labor Temple (2002 London Road).