Deer River Workers Win Strike Against Essentia!

After a 49 day strike, the Essentia Health Deer River workers represented by the Service Employees International Union have won their strike. We offer our congratulations to our union siblings for their well deserved and hard fought victory. We were proud to stand in solidarity with them.

Here is a statement by SEIU on the conclusion of the strike: SEIU Healthcare MN & IA members are celebrating their contract agreement with Essentia Deer River. The new contract significantly improved on the offer proposed by management before the strike. The new contract was tentatively agreed upon early this weekend, after two days of bargaining, and approved by the full membership Sunday afternoon with 92% support. Today’s vote to approve the contract will end the ULP strike that lasted 49 days. This was the longest strike by SEIU Healthcare MN & IA members in more than 40 years.

Becky Shereck, a Radiologic Technologist at Essentia-Deer River for 16 years, shared their pride in workers standing up for what is right and winning a strong new contract:“I’m so proud of our membership for sticking together. Despite the many cold days on the strike line we became a family. We are proud of the progress we made and that Essentia came to the table to provide a better offer. We are a strong union here in Deer River and we are dedicated health care workers. We love our job and we are ready to go back to work to care for our community. Thank you to everyone who supported us in our fight for a fair contract.”The group is composed of 70 workers in the Deer River hospital and nursing home/long term care facility. The union committee and management started contract negotiations in August. Workers were pushing for higher wages so the facility could hire enough staff to provide the world-class patient and resident care that members proudly provide to their community. The group had also conducted a 5-day ULP strike in November.Key gains in the agreement include:

12% across the board raises that will apply to all members- with 3.5% in year 1, 3.75% in year 2, and 4.75% in year 3 of the contract.
New language to prevent wage “leap-frogging”- if the employer hires a new employee at a higher wage rate than a current worker with similar experience, that worker will now also have their wage rate adjusted.
Additional market adjustments for Pharmacy Techs and Cooks.
An agreement to “meet and confer” during the term of the agreement when the new minimum wages established by Minnesota’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board take effect.
Increased Call Pay, Shift Differentials and Established a new Preceptor Pay Premium.
Increased bonus for workers who return to work with less than 10 hours between shifts.
A new uniform allowance of $100.

Maintenance workers will now be eligible for $.50 per hour in certification pay for up to two certifications: Refrigeration Certification and Class 2-C license (staff may qualify for one or both).The Union agreed to a modified version of the Cross Facility work proposal that was important to Essentia, but working across facilities will be voluntary for SEIU members and a new premium pay incentive was agreed upon for any members volunteering to work under the terms of the program.With the agreement in place, workers will begin to return to work this week. The parties are continuing to negotiate over the terms of the return to work agreement, as the facility returns to normal operations. All striking employees will be reinstated to the employer’s insurance effective February 1st and the employer will waive collection of the Union staff’s insurance premiums in arrears for December 2024.Jobs done by the group include: Nutrition Services Assistant, Activity Aide, Laundry Aide, Environmental Service Tech, Sterile Processing Tech, Cook, Nursing Assistant – LTC, Nursing Assistant (Hosp.Acute Care, HUC Duties), Health Unit Coordinator (HUC), Phlebotomist, Pharmacy Tech, LPN, Med Lab Tech, Maintenance I, Surgical Tech, Floor Care Tech, Medical Tech, Radiology Tech and more.