SNV Special Interview: Nurses Forward Part 2

Recorded (9/19/2023) and Uploaded (10/12/2023) If you haven't listened to Part 1 of this interview you should listen to that first and can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0AUMkpmwCsvSVWTM82412w?si=d_xqODFYSUKlcpUA143wkQ In this special we again speak with a slate of nurses running a rank-and-file campaign for the Board of Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) calling itself Nurses Forward (www.nursesforward.org/). We speak with Shiori Konda-Muhammad from North Memorial who is seeking a First VP position, Tami Andersen from North Memorial seeking a Director position, Becky Nelson who is at Abbott Northwestern and running for the Secretary position, Jayme Wicklund who works at Children's - St. Paul who is running for a director position, Melisa Koll from Children’s - Saint Paul who is seeking a Second VP position, Jill Lebrun from Fairview - Riverside who is seeking a Treasurer position, Meghan Matteson from Fairview - Riverside who is seeking a Director position, Alexia Hitchings from Abbott Northwestern who is seeking a Director position, Meghan Matteson from Fairview - Riverside who is seeking a Director position. In this special the Nurses Forward slate members speak about what their experience is as a nurse in their area and discuss elements of nursing the public may not be aware of. While being a nurse is rewarding there are many challenges that exist including having enough staff to safely meet the needs of patients. Nurses Forward members also talk about organizing during the last contract negotiations and strike and what made some facilities more successful in their organizing than others. They talk about how moving forward it should "be an expectation that each bargaining unit is ready to mobilize at a moments notice" as this is the only way to keep up momentum and properly serve members that elected them. During the interview we discuss what makes this rank-and-file slate unique when compared to the current MNA Board. Nurses Forward candidates discuss the importance of building a democratic and transparent union and "how decisions that are made at the board are not really even visible to the members a lot of times." They also discuss the importance of educating members and sharing experience among different bargaining units to make sure that everyone is on the same page and is not forced to "forge a path" on their own. Discipline and reaction to the slate from those currently on the board is also discussed a bit more in this interview. (Additional links below to more recently released information about this.) Links to topics covered in this special: 15,000 nurses in Minnesota hold historic strike to prioritize patients before profits: www.nationalnursesunited.org/article/mi…er-profits Minnesota nurses strike averted as hospitals, union reach deals: www.mprnews.org/story/2022/12/06/…deals-with-nurses Kelley’s Story: The Battle For Union Democracy In Minnesota: https://vimeo.com/867411199?share=copy&fbclid=IwAR1eeI9tgpYEDrMgfZ57fi5vHDSuYKgEQHXIyv54QZiyoCCSUPJLCcJGOeA Supporting documentation for Kelley's Story: https://upload.disroot.org/r/7RSN1C9e#YU0wBED2CanBVvYSvOuGWaRNqFoep1mCOOZ7/j9iF0k=