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Advanced practice providers at Essentia's East Market on Tuesday chose overwhelmingly to be represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association. The APPs had filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board on November 27.
The election faced delays for months as Essentia contested the proposed bargaining unit's composition through the NLRB's legal process. Despite these challenges, the union supporters prevailed, and the healthcare workers conducted their election in July.
"This is a historic achievement," said Brittany Ortler, a nurse practitioner at Essentia Health East Market in Duluth. "We are a united group of over 400 APPs, and I believe our efforts will encourage unionization consideration among APPs statewide and nationally. A single voice can make a difference, but collectively, many voices can create change."
The Essentia East Market covers an area in Minnesota from Brainerd north to International Falls and Duluth, and eastward to Ashland and Hayward in Wisconsin. Nurse practitioners, physician associates, nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists have been organizing for months. They realized the necessity of unionizing to more effectively voice concerns about workplace issues, such as improved compensation, work/life balance, and patient care loads.
As part of the Minnesota Nurses Association, the Essentia advanced practice providers anticipate having a greater influence over their professional practice, working conditions, and the safety of their patients.
