Duluth nurses celebrate first contracts

Also, Lake View RNs take action, MNA and NNU nurses march in Minneapolis

Staff report

National Nurse magazine - Jan | Feb | March 2026 Issue

Members from Essentia Health’s First Street Clinic, Second Street Clinic, Third Street Clinic, Superior Clinic, Miller Hill Surgery Center, and Solvay Hospice House in Duluth gathered for a contract distribution party to receive their hard-won first contracts. 

This comes as the nurses at 1st Street, 2nd Street, 3rd Street, and Superior Street Clinics ratified their first union contracts in August 2025 after organizing and electing to join MNA in 2024. At the end of October, nurses at Miller Hill Surgery Center in Duluth followed suit in ratifying their first contract. Members at Essentia’s Solvay Hospice House also voted to ratify their first union contract in early November of 2025. 

These workers’ first contracts were hard earned, with months of negotiations, an informational picket, bargaining unit actions, and ultimately a two-week unfair labor practice strike in July. The strike brought long-overdue visibility to the standard for outpatient care in Minnesota. The workers’ solidarity brought critical issues to light, galvanized public support, and placed rural health care at the forefront of the conversation. 

Aspirus Lake View nurses take action for a fair contract

Nurses at Aspirus Lake View Hospital in Two Harbors, Minn. are currently in contract negotiations. As bargaining continues, the Lake View nurses are standing strong together in solidarity. Nurses rocked their Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) red shirts in December and followed up with a button action in January to make sure that their employer hears their demands for respect and a voice in the workplace. The Lake View nurses are fighting for a fair contract that includes fair wages, insurance, and retirement benefits.

Minnesota and NNU nurses march in ICE Out of Minnesota rally

Minnesota nurses were joined by fellow National Nurses United nurses to march in the ICE Out of Minnesota Rally on Jan. 23 in downtown Minneapolis. Despite the -22-degree air temperature, dozens of nurses joined tens of thousands of Minnesotans to march. MNA President Chris Rubesch, RN, stated, “It is so important that we protect patient privacy and that we protect our patients’ rights and immigrant rights. Everybody deserves safe patient care. Everybody deserves to be safe and treated with respect in their hospitals.”