Ilhan Omar: Minnesota Nurses Are Ready to Strike. I Stand With Them.
Rep. Ilhan Omar in Jacobin: hospital CEOs are getting paid millions, but Twin Cities nurses don’t have the proper resources to care for their patients. It’s obvious why I’m on their side — you should be, too.
Ilhan Omar: “We will continue to support these nurses — including through a strike, if they deem it necessary.” (Gage Skidmore / Flickr)
Every single one of us relies on the labor of our nurses — which means that when those nurses are chronically understaffed, underpaid, and overworked, it affects all of us.
Last week, an overwhelming majority of Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) members in the Twin Cities and Twin Ports voted in favor of authorizing a strike in their monthslong fight for fair contracts to hold health care executives accountable. This will be the largest nursing strike in our country’s history if hospital executives fail to act.
Earlier this week, I joined nurses at Hennepin County Medical Center for an informational picket to call for fair contracts that address their concerns of staff safety, shortages, and retention. It is unconscionable that hospital CEOs have refused to address these concerns.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.