Maple Grove nurse says union fight is about fair pay and patient care

A nurse at North Memorial Maple Grove Hospital says the effort to win a first contract is about more than workplace issues. It is also about keeping care strong for patients and families in the community.

By Lisa Groebner, RN, the piece reflects on more than 16 years in nursing and 14 years at the hospital’s Family Birth Center. Groebner says her mother, a public health nurse for more than 30 years, helped inspire her to enter the profession. She writes that she loves her job and the people she works with every day, and that Maple Grove Hospital once felt like a close-knit place where staff took care of one another and the employer took care of them.

According to the article, the hospital began with a vision of being a community hospital that provided “health care as it ought to be.” Groebner says the workplace was once proud of being union-free and believed nurses could collaborate as a team without forming a union. Over time, however, she says the situation changed. In her account, the gap between nurses at Maple Grove and union nurses elsewhere in the Twin Cities metro area grew wider. She says health care became more business-like, patients were increasingly treated as “customers,” and benefits were reduced while the hospital did not keep pace with other area employers.

Groebner also writes that North Memorial Health used the “One North” brand, but says Maple Grove Hospital and North Memorial Robbinsdale are not equal in practice. She says it became clear that nurses were not being heard and that it was time to stand together and organize.

The article says Maple Grove Hospital nurses want the same benefits that other nurses in the metro receive. Groebner lists equal pay, better retirement benefits including a pension, stronger health care coverage, safe staffing, adequate breaks, and increased paid time off accrual that could help cover vacation and sick time. She presents these as basic fairness issues, not extras.

A planned expansion at Maple Grove Hospital in 2027 is another major concern raised in the piece. Groebner says the expansion is needed to better serve the community, but it also leads nurses to question how the hospital will recruit and keep staff. Without parity with other metro-area nurses, she asks how the employer can expect nurses to stay. She says the hospital needs to retain experienced bedside nurses and attract new ones, and that patients and families deserve that stability.

She writes that the goal is for Maple Grove Hospital to be a place where nurses can begin, continue, and end their careers. In her view, it should also be a place where nurses want to work and patients want to receive care. The article notes that Maple Grove Hospital delivers the most babies in Minnesota year after year, and Groebner says the hospital’s families continue to choose it because of the care provided by the nursing staff.

Groebner describes the hospital’s culture as strong and says nurses built and maintained that culture over time. She argues that a union would help preserve it. In her account, nurses created the environment that makes Maple Grove special, and collective bargaining would allow them to continue that work while pressing for fair treatment.

The article also frames the contract fight as being connected to the community. Groebner says patients should know nurses are taking this action with their care in mind. She writes that the nurses want to provide the best experience possible and that they value their patients. At the same time, they want their employer to value them so they can keep delivering the care patients expect.

The piece ends with a message to workers who do not already have union representation. Groebner encourages them to stand up for themselves. She says having a union is not about making promises, but about standing together and fighting for what workers are worth.

Throughout the article, the central theme is the link between working conditions and patient care. Groebner presents the contract struggle as a way to protect staff, improve retention, and keep the hospital competitive with other unionized facilities in the Twin Cities area. At the same time, she says the effort is rooted in the long-standing commitment nurses have shown to the hospital and the community it serves.

The source does not report details of any agreement, any bargaining timeline beyond the first contract effort, or any response from hospital management. It also does not include specific staffing numbers, wage figures, or benefit comparisons. What it does make clear is that Maple Grove nurses see their union campaign as a matter of respect, fairness, and the ability to continue providing high-quality care.

For Groebner, the issue comes down to whether the hospital will match the value nurses say they bring every day. Her message is that nurses want to be treated with the same seriousness and respect as their counterparts across the metro, so they can keep supporting patients, families, and the community for years to come.