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Twelve thousand members of the Minnesota Nursing Association (MNA), part of National Nurses United (NNU) and in the midst of collective bargaining for new contracts, engaged in what is being called the largest nursing strike in U.S. history on Thursday. Many of the 14 hospitals affected were operating with temporary nurses from across the country and had intentionally reduced patient populations, with many elective procedures postponed. Despite the number of employees and facilities involved, the effect was expected to be minimal.
Another NNU organization, the California Nurses Association (CNA), planned a similar one-day strike throughout facilities in California. Those plans were blocked by a Temporary Restraining Order issued by a San Francisco judge at the request of the University of California. The strikes were converted to rallies.
Both sets of ongoing negotiations have nurse-patient staffing ratios as one of the remaining outstanding issues.