As nearly 12,000 Minneapolis nurses threaten a walkout next week, area hospitals are trying to decide whether a potential strike would be more costly than meeting union demands. Contract talks between 14 metropolitan hospitals and the Minnesota Nurses Association have stalled over union demands for formal nurse-to-patient ratios. The union argues that maintaining rigid ratios would result in better care for patients and safety, while hospital officials counter that ratios are unfeasible at a time when health care organizations are being pressured to improve efficiency across the board. As a result, the hospital organization may call the MNA's bluff, despite the risk of bad publicity and a decrease in the quality of care patients receive.
See "Do Twin Cities hospitals want a nurse strike?", Chen May Yee, Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 1, 2010