Recorded (8/8/2023) and Uploaded (8/24/2023)
In this special we speak with a slate of nurses running a rank-and-file campaign for the Board of Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) calling itself Nurses Forward (https://www.nursesforward.org/). We speak with Shiori Konda-Muhammad from North Memorial who is seeking a First VP position, Tami Andersen from North Memorial seeking a Director position, Jill Lebrun from Fairview - Riverside who is seeking a Treasurer position, Meghan Matteson from Fairview - Riverside who is seeking a Director position, Melisa Koll from Children’s - Saint Paul who is seeking a Second VP postion, Venessa Soldo-Jones who works at Allina and is Seeking a Director position, and Kelley Anaas who is an RN at Abbott Northwestern and is the campaign/social media manager for the campaign.
In this special the Nurses Forward slate says their demands for transparency and accountability as well as their rank-and-file campaign are being seen as "a threat" to the current board. Already they have faced formal discipline of one member for "raising concerns" and a number of individuals on the slate have received cease and desist letters.
During the interview we discuss what makes this rank-and-file slate unique when compared to the current MNA Board and how the union has functioned historically. Nurses Forward's candidates discuss building solidarity, supporting diversity within the union and how workers can work to win campaigns to improve not only their workplaces but their communities. These nurses envision an organizing model for their union where all members are involved in setting the direction of Minnesota Nurses Association.
Links to topics covered in this special:
15,000 nurses in Minnesota hold historic strike to prioritize patients before profits: https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/article/minnesota-nurses-hold-historic-strike-to-prioritize-patients-over-profits
Minnesota nurses strike averted as hospitals, union reach deals: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/12/06/minnesota-hospital-systems-report-tentative-contract-deals-with-nurses
MN Democrats Bend to Hospital’s Union Busting and Betray the Minnesota Nurses Union: https://www.socialistalternative.org/2023/05/31/give-the-hospital-bosses-an-inch-and-they-take-a-mile/
St. Paul firefighters fight for new contract: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWCJSenPUI0
