Primary and urgent care providers represented by the Doctors Council Service Employees International Union have reached a tentative agreement with Minneapolis-based Allina Health.
The three-year agreement covers more than 600 Allina physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners and comes more than two years after negotiations began. It follows a one-day strike in November, according to an April 2 union news release shared with Becker’s.
Katherine Oyster, MD, a family practice OB at Allina Cottage Grove (Minn.) Clinic and a member of the Doctors Council–SEIU bargaining team, praised the deal.
“This hard-fought tentative agreement gives us protections — in writing — we could only dream about when starting the process to unionize nearly four years ago,” Dr. Oyster said in the release. “This contract goes a long way to help us provide the care we know our patients need and provides sustainability to a career plagued with burnout. This agreement will keep quality providers at Allina and help our community.”
According to Doctors Council–SEIU, the agreement includes increased autonomy for providers, safety improvements, fair pay and protections around parental leave, medical leave and family leave.
Allina Health shared the following statement with Becker’s: “The tentative agreement reflects the priorities of both parties and supports Allina Health’s ability to continue caring for our community well into the future. This important step forward allows us to focus on caring for patients and supporting the teams who provide that care every day.”
The tentative agreement is subject to a ratification vote by union members.
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