Deer River Strike Reaches 45 days, two sides go back to the bargaining table

The ULP (Unfair Labor Practices) strike by Essentia Deer River workers reached 45 days on Wednesday.

The two sides are heading back to the bargaining table for sessions scheduled Wednesday and Thursday, with a federal mediator in attendence.

In a press release from SEIU Healthcare MN & IA, they state, “Last week hundreds of union members held an informational picket in Duluth in support of the workers, who voted down the employer’s current offer once again, this time with 90% supporting the rejection of the subpar offer.”

RELATED: Essentia Deer River strike continues as union rejects offer

Kayla Schwankl, SEIU organizer and lead bargainer for the group, shared the workers’ determination to win a fair contract: 

“SEIU members have been united over the last 45 days (and in our previous 5-day ULP strike) to win a contract that respects their work and ensures our patients and residents get the care they deserve from staff who can afford to make this job a career. It is frustrating that this strike has gone on this long, but it has been amazing to see the solidarity and the amazing support from the Deer River community. We’ve been ready to reach a fair deal with the employer throughout this process, and that is the mindset we are taking into bargaining today and tomorrow. Our bargaining team is hopeful that Essentia will come to the table ready to negotiate and we can finally reach a fair deal and settle this ULP strike.”

On January 16th, WDIO spoke with Kim Kaiser, a spokesperson from Essentia Health. She said the language in the contract offer is their Cross-Facility Floating model. Which states that employees would have be asked to travel and work at other nearby Essentia Health owned hospitals.

“This is really a concept that is a big benefit for our patients and for our colleagues as well. This is an opportunity for some of our colleagues at SEIU, if they choose to, to go and help colleagues at another facility,” Kaiser said. “In certain circumstances, say we had an unexpected illness or an emergency. It would allow us to make sure we could best meet our patients’ needs.”

WDIO News will continue to cover the SEIU Deer River Strike and any other new updates.