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MINNEAPOLIS — More than 12,000 nurses walked off the job Thursday in a one-day strike at 14 Minnesota hospitals, a show of force being watched across the country as a test of how fiercely a new national nurses union can flex its muscle.
Nurses say they are being asked to care for too many patients at a time and that strict ratios are necessary to protect patient safety. The hospitals, all in the Minneapolis area, counter that patients are safe.
Though it was called the largest nurses strike in U.S. history by the union and the hospitals, the effects were minimal. But they came at a cost: Hospitals hired 2,800 replacement nurses, called in extra nonunion staff and reduced patient levels, and some rescheduled elective surgeries.
