Nurses strike in Duluth avoided after contract is approved
Nurses in Duluth have ratified a new contract with St. Luke's Health Care. The approval came in a vote Wednesday night.
Labor and management reached a tentative deal on Saturday, with terms to address staffing levels and workplace safety measures. The deal will also bring St. Luke's nurses to pay parity with their counterparts at neighboring Essentia Health.
Those nurses approved a new contract earlier this month.
Nurses at St. Lukes had been working without a contract since July, and negotiations had been ongoing for months. The new agreement came after the union filed a strike notice and said about 650 nurses would walk off the job next Thursday.
The new contract runs through 2020. The union didn't disclosed a vote total, but said an overwhelming majority of members voted to approve the contract.
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