ST PAUL, Minn. — Frontline healthcare workers with HealthPartners in the Twin Cities reached a tentative agreement after a "marathon bargaining session," the union said on Wednesday morning.
Nearly 1,800 members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa reached an agreement to protect “industry-leading” healthcare benefits from cuts or concessions, after spending 21 hours at the bargaining table with their employer.
The agreement won the workers a wage increase over a three-year period with 5% more for all members in the first year, 4% in the second year and 4% in the third year.
“As healthcare providers, we believe that everyone deserves good healthcare. This agreement is so important because as people have seen over the last three years during COVID and a chronic workforce shortage, healthcare workers are overworked and underpaid,” Jessica Standfer, a certified ophthalmic technologist said in a statement. “We showed up to work when so many others didn’t have to, to take care of our patients. We all deserve better. We hope that this agreement shows that when you stand together in union you can raise the bar for everyone.”
The agreement also includes increased float pay, vacation bidding, and a commitment to continuing education reimbursements.
“We’ve worked hard for over 40 years as a union at HealthPartners to establish and maintain our benefits,” said HealthPartners RN Jean Pfarr, in a statement. “Having good healthcare means we can take care of our own health, which means we can take care of our patients.”
SEIU said affected workers fill more than 80 different jobs at 30 clinics across the Twin Cities.
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