BISMARCK, N.D. Registered nurses at CHI St. Alexius Health have started the process to unionize according to a press release sent by the Minnesota Nurses Association on Tuesday.
On July 31, nurses filed for an election for nurses to vote to be represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association. This begins the formal process of unionizing.
“We believe the best way to advocate for our patients is by securing a place at the table where decisions about patients are made,” said St. Alexius RN Chettie Greer. “We are the professionals providing direct care to patients at the bedside every day. Who knows what patients need better than nurses?”
St. Alexius nurses have been working to organize as part of the Minnesota Nurses Association, which represents nearly 22,000 nurses in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
The NLRB will review the authorization cards, set an election date and conduct the election. If the nurses vote to join MNA, a bargaining unit at CHI St. Alexius will choose its leadership and begin creating a contract.
CHI released a statement Wednesday morning saying: "We are proud of the high-quality and safe care our nurses and patient care team provide to our community. It has been our faith-based mission for more than 132 years to ensure our patients receive exceptional care at CHI St. Alexius Health.
We believe we can best continue our mission to serve our patients when CHI St. Alexius Health’s associates are free to work directly with leadership in healthcare settings without going through a third party.
Caring for our patients has been and will remain our top priority. We will not let the latest step by the union distract from our longstanding commitment to our community."
