MINNEAPOLIS – AFSCME members believe every community deserves access to lifesaving care, no matter a patient’s income, insurance status, ZIP code or background.
That’s why front-line workers at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) sounded the alarm, organized with patients and labor allies and pushed lawmakers to act before vital care was put at risk.
Thanks to the efforts of AFSCME members who keep HCMC running, state leaders have reached a bipartisan agreement to stabilize the immediate future of Minnesota’s largest public hospital. The move protects health care access for families, seniors, children and vulnerable Minnesotans.
“This bipartisan agreement to save HCMC from closing is a major victory for working people, patients and communities all across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest region,” Bart Andersen, executive director of AFSCME Council 5, said in a statement Thursday.
“For months, our union members who work at HCMC sounded the alarm about what was at stake if HCMC was allowed to shutter, and that was always an unacceptable reality,” Andersen said. “Workers shared their stories, organized relentlessly, advocated at the Capitol, held rallies and press conferences, spoke directly with lawmakers, all while also continuing to show up every single day at HCMC to provide lifesaving care for every patient who walks through the doors. Workers' activism, courage and unwavering commitment to our communities made this bipartisan agreement possible.”
AFSCME Locals 2474 and 977, both part of Council 5, represent more than 3,000 HCMC workers who helped build the public pressure needed to protect the hospital system.
“My co-workers and fellow union members never gave up because we understood this fight was never just about a building or a budget line item,” said Sara Franck, president of Local 2474 and a dental assistant at Hennepin Healthcare.
“Our fight to save HCMC was about protecting a lifeline for our patients regardless of their income, insurance status, ZIP code or background,” Franck said. “HCMC is where Minnesotans go during some of the hardest and most tragic moments of their lives, and our union members deeply understood that allowing these services to collapse would have devastating consequences for families across our state, and that was an unacceptable reality — so we fought back."
Kitsune Tara, president of AFSCME Local 977 and a patient services coordinator at Hennepin Healthcare, also praised the state action, adding that the fight isn’t over.
“This historic agreement proves what is possible when workers, patients, community members, Minnesota's labor movement and lawmakers come together to put people before politics,” Tara said. “Now we must push lawmakers to finish the job by passing this agreement into law and ensuring HCMC remains strong for generations to come, and we will be back to advocate for long-term, sustainable funding solutions.”