Dec. 5 update: our third and fourth negotiation sessions

Essentia Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) held their third and fourth bargaining sessions on Tuesday, Dec. 2, and Thursday, Dec. 4, to negotiate the Moose Lake nurses’ contract, which expired Nov. 30. The next scheduled meeting date is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 6.

Our sessions this week were collaborative, professional and respectful. We will continue our discussions over open items to ensure understanding and to allow opportunities for clarifying questions. Both parties have expressed interest in reaching a timely resolution to negotiations.

Open issues still under discussion include wages, cross-facility floating language and seniority. We value our long-tenured nurses and recognize their seniority through higher wages, increased PTO and in vacation selection.

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

Nov. 17 update: our first and second negotiation sessions

Essentia Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) held their first two bargaining sessions on Thursday, Nov. 13, and Friday, Nov. 14, to negotiate the Moose Lake nurses’ contract, which expires Nov. 30. The next scheduled meeting dates are:   

• • Dec. 2 
  • Dec. 4 

Essentia presented 10 proposals while the MNA presented 25 proposals, including increases in differentials and pay rates. During the initial sessions, we reached 10 tentative agreements. We also engaged in productive discussions on key topics, such as voluntary cross-facility floating and flexibility to institute critical shift bonus programs.  

On the first day, Essentia provided the MNA with a full response to all of their proposals, emphasizing the importance of being flexible and nimble for long-term success and the ability to adapt to change in today’s dynamic health care environment. We also answered questions regarding continuing education benefits, discussed holiday pay and provided a counterproposal on voluntary cross-facility floating that mirrors the tentative agreement recently reached at our Brainerd hospital.  

Both Essentia and the MNA have expressed interest in reaching a timely agreement. We look forward to making additional progress during our next scheduled meeting Dec. 2.  

Nov. 7 update: 2025 negotiations with MNA

The collective bargaining agreement between Essentia Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) covering nurses in Moose Lake expires Nov. 30, 2025. Our goal is to reach an agreement as close to the expiration date as possible.

We want to ensure that 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 regular updates once contract talks begin.

So far, the MNA has agreed to four bargaining dates: Nov. 13, Nov. 14, Dec. 2 and Dec. 4. If need be, Essentia and the MNA will discuss adding bargaining dates to give the parties the necessary time to reach an agreement beneficial to both parties. We will share information during negotiations to help you remain well informed throughout the bargaining process. We will also share this information during rounding, postings, 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 and quarterly admin rounding, 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-St. Joseph Medical Center and 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 of having positive results in Moose Lake, and we are committed to investing the proper time to do so.

We appreciate what 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 Thursday, Nov. 13.