Story thread · 8 reports / 7 sources

'It's unsustainable': Doctors abandon posts in first-ever US hospital walkout

rawstory.com · 9hShare

Nearly 150 unionized doctors at two Twin Cities area hospitals began a four-day strike on Monday in what’s believed to be the first walkout by private-sector hospital doctors in U.S. history. Doctors clad in their white coats walked picket lines outside Allina Health’s Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and Unity campus in Fridley, carrying signs that read “patients over profits” and “burnout hurts.” Union leaders say the strike — and potential disruption to patient care — is a necessary last resort after negotiating for more than three years for a first labor contract governing wages and working conditions. Their fight, they say, goes beyond pay and benefits: It’s a fight against profit-focused hospital executives who demand workloads so punishing that doctors are burning out, with patients’ care at risk. “We need to be able to stand up for ourselves,” said Dr. Amber Galarowicz, an Allina hospitalist and bargaining team member for the union Doctors Council SEIU. “The voice that we’ll be ab

First report: Allina doctors prepare to strike Monday as contract talks continue — kare11.com, 1d