Around 15,000 nurses in Minnesota have launched three-days of strike action
Nurses across the U.S. have spoken out about poor pay and conditions as they walk off their jobs for three days.
Many nurses have issued warnings about a healthcare system, which has been battered during the pandemic.
Nurses walked off the job on Monday in seven health places, where they were heard chanting slogans like “Patients before Profits”.
The stoppages are likely to affect 16 hospitals across Minnesota. The walkout was planned by the Minnesota Nurses Association.
“Hospital executives have already driven nurses away from the bedside by their refusal to solve the crises of staffing and retention in our hospitals,” a spokesperson for the union said.
The U.S. is understood to have lost 37,000 healthcare workers since February 2020, as the pandemic put downward pressure on the system.
Lawmakers have responded to the disruptions, with Senator Bernie Sanders describing the nurses as “the backbone of our health care system”.
“I stand in solidarity with the 15,000 nurses on strike this week fighting for safer care, fair scheduling, and higher wages. They understand what’s best for their patients,” he said.
