:(6WDQG:LWK0LQQHVRWD1XUVHV :HEHOLHYHLQWKH0LQQHVRWD5HJLVWHUHG1XUVHV More than 12,000 Twin Cities Registered Nurses and over 1,500 Duluth Registered Nurses formally began pension and labor contract negotiations with Minnesota’s biggest hospital systems (North Memorial, HealthEast, Allina, Methodist, Children’s, and Fairview in the Twin Cities; and St. Mary’s Duluth Clinic/Essentia Health and St. Lukes’ in Duluth) earlier this spring.

Quality patient outcomes start with nurses. Nurses always have and always will be outspoken advocates for their patients’ care, protection and safety. MNA Nurses are standing up for a contract that ensures safe sta!ng levels, infectious disease protections, emergency preparedness, educational development and incentives for potential nurses to enter the profession in the future.

Meanwhile, hospital management seeks to make nurses interchangeable from unit to unit, and hospital to hospital, rather than acknowledge that nurses are highly educated, highly specialized healthcare professionals.

Employers also seek to cut nurses’ pension bene"ts back to 1968 levels and take away countless other bene"ts nurses negotiated over decades of collective bargaining. Hospitals have laid o# 1,740 employees in 2009, while bringing in millions in pro"ts1 and paying huge salaries and bonuses to their executives. Hospitals are making money while laying o# caregivers. This is not putting patient safety "rst. We, the faith, elected, community, and labor leaders of Minnesota, strongly support registered nurses in their e#orts to protect Minnesota’s high standards of patient care and safety.

We call upon the executives and board members of Minnesota’s hospital systems to play a positive, cooperative role in negotiating a contract that protects patient safety, patient advocacy and patient protection. Please join us. :H6XSSRUWWKH0LQQHVRWD5HJLVWHUHG1XUVHV

AFSCME Council 5 President Mike Buesing and State Representative Julie Bunn State Senator Sandy Rummel Executive Director Eliot Seide State Representative Lyndon Carlson State Senator Kathy Saltzman State Representative Joe Champion State Senator Linda Scheid AFSCME Local 34 President Jean Diederich State Representative Karen Clark State Senator Kathy Sheran Association of Flight Attendants - CWA Countil 95 State Representative Jim Davnie State Senator Katie Sieben President Bruce Retrum State Representative Denise Dittrich State Senator Dan Skogen State Representative Patti Fritz State Senator Patricia Torres Ray ATU Local 1005 President Michelle Sommers State Representative Paul Gardner State Senator Jim Vickerman CWA Minnesota State Council President Tim Lovaasen State Representative Mindy Greiling State Senator Chuck Wiger Education Minnesota President Tom Dooher State Representative Rick Hansen State Senator Ray Vandeveer State Representative Alice Hausman State Auditor Rebecca Otto IBEW 292 Business Manager Tony Maghrak State Representative Je! Hayden IBEW Local 110 Business Manager Mike Redlund State Representative Debra Hilstrom Attorney General Lori Swanson State Representative Frank Hornstein Ramsey County Commissioner Tony Bennett IBEW Minnesota State Council President Tom Koehler State Representative Melissa Hortman Ramsey County Commissioner Toni Carter State Representative Larry Hosch IUOE Local 49 Business Manager Glen Johnson Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough State Representative Sheldon Johnson Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega Laborers District Council of MN and ND State Representative Phyllis Kahn Ramsey County Commissioner Jan Parker President and Business Manger Jim Brady State Representative Kate Knuth Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt, Chair State Representative Carolyn Laine Laborers Local 363 Business Manager Audie Gillespie Ramsey County Commissioner Janice Rettman State Representative Ann Lenczewski Laborers Local 563 Business Manager Tim Mackey State Representative John Lesch Congressman Keith Ellison MAPE Executive Director Jim Monroe State Representative Leon Lillie Congresswoman Betty McCollum State Representative Tina Liebling Minneapolis Federation of Teachers President Lynn Nordgren St. Paul City Council President Kathy Lantry State Representative Diane Loe"er St. Paul City Council Member Dan Bostrom Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation President Bill McCarthy State Representative Tim Mahoney St. Paul City Council Member Melvin Carter III State Representative Carlos Mariani Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson St. Paul City Council Member Pat Harris State Representative Sandra Masin St. Paul City Council Member Lee Helgen Minnesota Building Trades President Harry Melander State Representative Will Morgan St. Paul City Council Member Russ Stark State Representative Joe Mullery Minnesota Pipe Trades Business Manager Carl Crimmins St. Paul City Council Member Dave Thune State Representative Erin Murphy MNASO President Elayne Best State Representative Michael Nelson Minneapolis City Council Member Betsy Hodges State Representative Jerry Newton Minneapolis City Council Member Diane Hofstede NALC Branch 9 President Pam Donato State Representative Michael Paymar Minneapolis City Council Member Elizabeth Glidden North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters State Representative Sandra Peterson Minneapolis City Council Member Cam Gordon Executive Secretary Treasurer James Moore State Representative Paul Rosenthal Minneapolis City Council Member John Quincy State Representative Maria Ruud Minneapolis City Council Member Kevin Reich SEIU Healthcare Minnesota President Julie Schnell State Representative Bev Scalze Minneapolis City Council Member Gary Schi! SEIU Local 63 President Harry Grigsby, Jr. State Representative Steve Simon Crystal City Council Member Joseph Selton State Representative Nora Slawik SEIU Local 26 President Javier Morillo-Alicea State Representative Linda Slocum Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party SEIU Local 284 Executive Director Carol Nieters State Representative Steve Smith Vice Chair Donna Cassutt St. Paul Federation of Teachers President Mary Cathryn Ricker State Representative Phillip Sterner Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party State Representative Marsha Swails Chair Brian Melendez St. Paul Regional Labor Federation President Bobby Kasper State Representative Cy Thao St. Louis Park City Council Member Phil Finkelstein Teamsters Local 120 President Brad A. Slawson Jr. State Representative Paul Thissen State Representative Tom Tillberry Vadnais Heights City Council Menber Joe Murphy UFCW 789 President Don Seaquist State Representative Jean Wagenius 2008 School Nurse of the Year Jeanne Sedgwick UNITE HERE Local 17 President Nancy Goldman State Representative Ryan Winkler 3rd District Nurses Association President Mary Olson 4th District Nurses Association President Carol Murphy UFCW Local 653 President Ray Sawicky State Senator Ellen Anderson State Senator Linda Berglin St. Catherine University Associate Professor, Department of Nursing Roberta Hunt, PhD, RN UNITE HERE State Council Secretary-Treasurer Wade Luneburg State Senator Don Betzold State Senator Jim Carlson Alliance for Better MN Denise Cardinal United Transportation Union (UTU) State Senator Satveer Chaudhary State Legislative Director Phil Qualy State Senator Richard Cohen America Votes Jessie Danielson State Senator Kevin Dahle Wellstone Action Je! Blodgett ISAIAH Rev. Grant Stevensen State Senator Scott Dibble Jewish Community Action State Senator John Doll Working America David Wehde Workers Interfaith Network State Senator Linda Higgins State Senator Ken Kelash State Representative Jim Abeler State Senator Ron Latz Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher State Senator John Marty State Representative Joe Atkins State Senator Jim Metzen State Representative John Benson State Senator Sandra Pappas State Representative Karla Bigham Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller State Representative David Bly State Senator Ann Rest