Brainerd Bargaining

Essentia Health recognizes the MNA as the union representing nearly 300 nurses at Essentia Health-St. Joseph Medical Center. Essentia Health is committed to working through the usual process of bargaining in good faith to come to a mutually agreeable contract.

Nov. 12 Update

Tentative agreement reached with Brainerd nurses 

Essentia Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) bargaining teams have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract.  

The tentative agreement addresses key priorities for both sides. Highlights include measures to strengthen the commitment to a workplace free of violence and flexibility for staff to work across facilities on a voluntary basis when Brainerd or other Essentia hospitals need additional support. 

The MNA bargaining team has indicated it will recommend ratification of the agreement. A ratification vote will likely be held Nov. 21. The MNA will share specific details with nurses.  

We thank our nurses for their continued dedication to our patients and colleagues. 

Oct. 22 Update

Update on the sixth negotiation session

Essentia Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) met yesterday for our sixth bargaining session. The MNA presented a complete package response to Essentia’s initial settlement package which included responses to voluntary cross-facility floating and the Absent Without Pay (AWOP) process.    

There was a good discussion on the level bonuses for shift pickup structure. Both sides modified their wage proposals, and the parties agreed to a revised process for holiday scheduling and assignment. The MNA also shared concerns regarding how to ensure fairness while managing situations where we are overstaffed or have low census. The parties had significant discussion about how to limit any negative impact to nurses, and Essentia agreed to continue discussions on possible limits to the amount of mandatory AWOP. 

We have narrowed the open issues to the following: conditions surrounding voluntary cross-facility floating, the AWOP/mandatory low need process and potential limitations, the awarding of shifts and associated bonus structure, insurance benefits and wages. 

At the end of the day, Essentia provided the MNA a revised settlement offer that the MNA will consider and respond to when we meet again on Nov. 10 and 11.  The day was very productive, and both parties made significant movement. We are eager to work through the few remaining open issues and hopefully reach an agreement when we meet next. 

Oct. 14 Update

Update on the fifth negotiation session

Essentia Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) met Oct. 13 for our fifth bargaining session. Holiday scheduling was a focus of discussion most of the day with each side providing counterproposals and finding common ground. Conversations were respectful and professional, and several key issues remain open, including voluntary cross-facility floating, the Absent Without Pay (AWOP) process, benefit program changes, tiered bonus eligibility and wages, which the MNA has been unwilling to discuss at length yet.

Essentia’s expectation and goal is to reach a new agreement before the contract expires, so nursing colleagues receive timely wage adjustments, and patients can be assured of the steady, high-quality level of care provided by the Brainerd team.

With one bargaining session (Oct. 21) remaining ahead of the Oct. 31 contract expiration, Essentia presented the MNA with the first settlement package, which reflects a modified number of proposals and an agreement to several improvements in differential payments. The MNA has not yet responded to Essentia’s package and requested additional dates bargaining in November.

Since the MNA believes more time is needed, Essentia proposed the contract be extended through the end of the year while we continue bargaining. An extension would ensure the contract remains in full force, and that any pay adjustments agreed upon with a final settlement would include retroactivity. Unfortunately, the MNA wouldn’t agree to an extension.

Essentia agreed to two additional dates, Nov. 10 and 11, to continue bargaining. Our goal remains to reach an agreement that benefits both Essentia and our nurses as quickly as possible.

Oct. 9 Update

Essentia Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) met yesterday for our fourth bargaining session. There was a good discussion on the “Absent Without Pay” (AWOP) process, holiday scheduling and voluntary cross-facility floating. We exchanged a number of proposals and counterproposals for consideration and were able to reach tentative agreements on two items, totaling 10 tentative agreements so far. Several of the TAs are improvements to differential rates that benefit the nurses. We had good discussions on holiday scheduling, which both parties agreed needs to be addressed, and we believe we can find common ground on this issue.

Several important items remain open, including voluntary cross-facility floating, AWOP, benefit standardization, and wages.

We are scheduled to meet again on Oct. 13 and 21. We hope to continue making progress, and we will keep you updated on the developments.

Oct. 3 Update

Update on negotiation sessions

Essentia Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) met over the last two days for our second and third bargaining sessions. Both parties provided initial responses to all proposals presented last week. There were very productive discussions over several items, including the vacation scheduling process, holiday scheduling, shift bonuses and certification pay. We reached tentative agreements on seven proposals.

We have additional bargaining sessions scheduled for Oct. 8, 13 and 21. We will continue to have more in-depth discussions over the open items to ensure understanding and to allow opportunity for clarifying questions. The contract is scheduled to expire on Oct. 31, and both parties have expressed interest in reaching a timely resolution to negotiations.

We will continue to post updates on the progress made at the bargaining table.

 

Sept. 24 Update

Update on first negotiation session

Essentia Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) bargaining teams met yesterday (Sept. 23) for our first negotiation session. The contract is set to expire on Oct. 31, and we have additional bargaining sessions scheduled for Oct. 1, 2, 8, 13, and 21.

The parties exchanged initial proposals, and each party asked clarifying questions to ensure understanding. The MNA presented 30 proposals to change components of the contract, including modifications to the scheduling of hours and vacation, low need, benefits, differentials and wages. Essentia then presented 24 proposals on many of the same topics. The conversations were very respectful, and both bargaining teams expressed a shared interest in having constructive and thoughtful discussion over the proposals.

During the next several bargaining sessions, the teams will work to reach agreement on these changes with the goal of obtaining a tentative agreement on a new contract before the current contract expires. We plan to send regular updates on the progress of bargaining and to share insights on the issues that are being discussed.

Please feel free to reach out to your leaders with any questions.

Sept. 18 Update

Thoughtful staffing and exceptional care

We wish to take a moment to highlight how we work together to best meet patients’ needs through our staffing practices in our Brainerd hospital. We strive to provide timely access to care, relying on thoughtful planning and continuous evaluation of patient needs.

At Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center, a significant amount of time and effort goes into staffing our units to meet our patients’ needs and support our care teams. Over the past three years, we have increased RN staffing by more than 50 FTEs. Coinciding with this shift, we see exemplary quality patient outcomes, as demonstrated by Brainerd’s excellent 5-star Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital rating and the Chartis Top 100 Rural Hospital honor this year.

We have additional resources, such as float pools, sitters and “SWOT” nurses, to support our patients and our teams, and we have added nearly 30 nursing assistants, behavioral health technicians and health unit coordinators in the past three years.

Thoughtful staffing is essential for many reasons:

• It enhances our patients’ experience, so they feel safe and cared for.
• It impacts team satisfaction; a balanced workload allows team members to perform meaningful work without feeling overwhelmed or underutilized.
• Ensuring we have the right staff, in the right place, at the right time enhances the quality of the care we provide, ensuring patient needs are met.
• Lastly, thoughtful staffing allows us to practice good stewardship, which aligns with our Essentia values, and helps us put our people resources where they are needed most.

As we prepare for contract negotiations to begin Sept. 23, we want to emphasize our commitment to creating excellent careers for nurses at Essentia. We value our nurses and all they do for our patients. We recognize the importance of working together to focus on strong, sustainable health care for our communities.

To learn more about the importance of thoughtful staffing, please review the fact sheet on the right. Thank you for your commitment to our patients and one another.

Sept. 11 Update

2025 negotiations with MNA

The collective bargaining agreement between Essentia Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) covering nurses in Brainerd expires Oct. 31, 2025. Our goal is to reach an agreement as close to the expiration date as possible. 

We want to ensure you are kept informed with current and accurate information about negotiations. We have established this website to share bargaining updates with you. Please check back often for information before the start of negotiations and for regular updates once contract talks begin.

So far, the MNA has agreed to six bargaining dates: Sept. 23, Oct. 1, Oct. 2, Oct. 8, Oct. 13 and Oct. 21. If need be, Essentia and the MNA will discuss adding bargaining dates to ensure the necessary time to reach an agreement beneficial to both parties. We will share information regularly before and during negotiations to help you remain well-informed throughout the bargaining process. We will also share this information during rounding and through email.

Our nurses’ voices

We recognize that nurses have an important voice in our care teams. We have been listening to our nurses over the last three years through our Nurse Practice Councils, shift huddles, Glint surveys, our Labor Management Committee, as well as through the opinions and concerns nurses have raised directly to nurse leaders and charge nurses. We will do our best to take those issues into consideration through negotiations. We are always open to learning more from our nurses.

Working together

As always, we strongly encourage our nurses to continue to communicate and seek answers to questions from us directly. Through open dialogue, we can work together as a cohesive team.

Earlier this year, we reached a contract agreement with acute care nurses working in the Twin Ports. We are currently negotiating with Essentia Health nurses who care for patients at Essentia Health-Virginia.

We have been able to make progress by coming together and looking for common ground focused on delivering high-quality health care to our patients in a sustainable way, ensuring our colleagues have a safe and healthy workplace, and providing a competitive wage and benefits package. We are very hopeful to have positive results in Brainerd, and we are committed to devoting the proper time to do so.

We appreciate all our nurses do for Essentia and our patients. Our colleagues and our patients are our priority, and we look forward to working toward an agreement at upcoming bargaining sessions, which begin Tuesday, Sept. 23.