Thousands of striking nurses return to work in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Thousands of nurses have returned to work at hospitals in Minnesota following a three-day strike over wage increases and staffing and retention made worse by the coronavirus pandemic. Members of the Minnesota Nurses’ Association at 15 hospitals in the Minneapolis and Duluth areas walked off the job Monday. The Twin Cities Hospitals Group said in a statement Thursday that negotiators were expected to return to talks sometime next week. Some 15,000 nurses at seven health care systems in the Minneapolis and Duluth areas walked out, a number the union says makes it the largest strike ever by private-sector nurses. The affected hospitals recruited temporary nurses to cover for striking union members.