Three Twin Cities nurses who crossed their union's picket line during a mass walkout June 10 say they were harassed by the union after the fact through letters calling them to a disciplinary hearing.
The nurses, all from Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, say they resigned from the union before the 24-hour walkout in order to work behind the picket lines. Nonetheless, they received letters from the Minnesota Nurses Association saying they may be subject to reprimand, censure or expulsion.
The three are Maria Ruhl, Karen Hermann and Mary Sue Moe.
"I just want it all to go away, and now they're stirring the pot up again," Ruhl said of the letter, received Saturday.
The nurses filed a complaint against the MNA late Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board. In the past, it's been the MNA that's filed a flurry of federal complaints against the nurses' employers.
About 12,000 MNA members staged a 24-hour walkout June 10 after unusually contentious bargaining broke down with 14 Twin Cities hospitals. They were gearing up for an open-ended strike when negotiators reached a last-minute settlement July 1.
The hospitals are owned by Allina, Fairview, Children's, Park Nicollet, HealthEast and North Memorial.
Since the settlement, the MNA has sent letters to 77 nurses for working behind the picket line, spokesman John Nemo said. "A handful" of letters, he said, were mistakenly sent to those who had quit the union.
