Bargaining Update - June 10, 2026
We had our third negotiations session today and started the day responding to open economics. We shared powerful personal statements with Allina and addressed the 4.2% inflation rate, shared detailed information regarding the wage discrepancies we see compared to other hospitals for Cardiac Sonographers and Respiratory Therapists. And we acknowledged the cost of living, and the negative impact lower wages would have on our personal lives. Our entire team spoke in defense of our proposal to increase Lead Pay highlighting the important role Leads play in each of our departments. We moved our across the board increases to 9%, 9%, 9% and showed additional movement by withdrawing our proposals for the uniform allowance, extra shift bonuses, added fertility benefits, and getting Paid Family and Medical Leave language added to the contract.
Allina withdrew their proposal to extend the probationary period and came back with a 2%, 2%, 2.5% ATB increase. We’re still not satisfied with Allina’s package proposals and will continue to counter on those.
We ended the day with a 9%, 8%, 7% ATB proposal and we’re continuing to hold on our remaining economic proposals including the pension, shift differentials, call pay, weekend premiums, and more.
Our next bargaining session is not until Friday, June 26th. Help us stay motivated until then and purple up on Tuesday, June 16th! Wear your SEIU buttons and reach out to one of us if you need more. Union leaders will also be in the atrium outside the cafeteria at St. Francis on Tuesday, June 16th with information about the Allina/Sutter merger, so swing by from 11am-1pm to share your input and learn about the powerful ways we aim to make our union voices heard!
Bargaining Update - June 8, 2026
We started negotiations today hearing Allina’s response to our open non-economic proposals. They are not interested in adding safety language and believe equipment concerns are being adequately addressed. We agreed to withdraw the proposal but will continue to hold Allina accountable through discussions within the health and safety committee. We reached an agreement to remove the Cardiac Sonographer Associate position from the contract, as that is not a relevant job title anymore, with the understanding that if it ever were to be brought back that it would be an SEIU position. We exchanged some proposals around remaining open non-economic items but were unable to reach any agreement. Allina then brought their first response to our economic proposals and said they were not interested in any of our proposals besides addressing the across-the-board increases to which they responded 2%, 2%, 2% for the duration of the contract. We don’t believe these are reasonable proposals considering the cost of living and will be responding at our next session on Wednesday, June 10th.
Please keep wearing your SEIU buttons to show solidarity! Reach out to let us know what you think, and if you have any questions about the specific proposals.
Bargaining Update - June 4, 2026
Today was our first day of negotiations with Allina! We brought forward a lot of economic proposals, including improvements to differentials, PTO accruals, call pay, and double backs and lead pay. We also proposed a pick-up shift bonus, longevity bonus, mandate bonus and to be included in the SEIU pension. We presented market data around the Cardiac Sonographer wage scales to address low starting rates and retention. We started our across-the-board increases at 10%, 10% and 10%. We presented non-economic proposals related Paid Family and Medical Leave, No Holidays for 25-Year Employees, and eliminating the one-hour exception for call pay. We also presented language to improve workplace safety and to ensure we all have the appropriate equipment we need to do our work.
Allina presented a small list of non-economic proposals related to job vacancies, extending probationary periods, and increasing low need limits, and we were not interested in any of their proposals.
The employer was not interested in adding specific health and safety language on equipment to the contract, so we countered that we get assurances through the avenue of a Health and Safety Meeting upon contract ratification.
We reached a few tentative agreements on renewing some LOUs and Allina will respond to our non-economics in the morning on Monday, June 8th at our next session. We anticipate they will come with some responses to our economic proposals as well.
We loved seeing the pictures today of you all wearing your SEIU buttons on the unit! Please do again on Monday and send us a picture!
Bargaining Update - June 2, 2026
Hi St. Francis Tech Members,
We are excited to represent our powerful group of technical workers at St. Francis in our upcoming contract negotiations! We are your elected bargaining team –
Kia Pille, Special Imaging Tech
Shannon Hudson, Sleep Tech
Sue Chacich, Cardiac Sonographer
David Fleming, Special Imaging Tech
Kathleen Lawman, Respiratory Therapist
Larry Schindler, Surgical Tech
Sonja Keltgen, Diagnostic Sonographer
We have our first bargaining session on Thursday, June 4th. Please wear your SEIU buttons on Thursday to show management you stand with us! If you don’t have a button, ask a Worksite Leader in your department or reach out to one of us.
In solidarity,
Your bargaining team