Two Harbors Nurses Ratify Contract After Six Months of Negotiations

Nurses at Aspirus Lake View Hospital in Two Harbors voted March 20 to ratify a new collective-bargaining agreement, ending six months of negotiations with hospital management over wages and benefits.

The Minnesota Nurses Association announced the ratification on March 20, with nurses preserving existing insurance and retirement benefits while also improving equitable wages. The agreement covers a three-year term at the Two Harbors facility, which has served Lake County since opening in July 1957 and is now part of the Aspirus Health nonprofit system based in Wausau, Wisconsin.

"After a lengthy negotiation process, nurses have voted to approve a tentative agreement that represents a strong step forward," said Renee Lasky, RN. "By voting to ratify this agreement, it reflects fair and reasonable compromises on both sides of the table. This hard-won deal is the result of creative collaboration focused on supporting nurses and the patients we serve."

The ratified contract will run through June 30, 2028. Hospital management, in a statement reported by WSAW, said nurses "accepted it as the basis for their new three-year contract" and that the terms reached are "fair to both sides, and fair to the constituencies we all serve: our patients, our entire care team and the people of the Twin Ports."

Bargaining between the MNA and Aspirus Lake View began in late September, with nurses unified throughout on two core priorities: protecting existing insurance and retirement benefits, and securing more equitable pay. The MNA described workforce stability and retention as central concerns, framing both as directly tied to the quality of care available to Lake County patients.

Nurses had held an informational picket at the hospital at 325 11th Ave. during the bargaining period, which was not a work stoppage and did not interrupt patient access to care.

Aspirus Health, a nonprofit system serving northeastern Minnesota, northern and central Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, operates 18 hospitals and 130 outpatient locations. The Two Harbors ratification is one of several active labor negotiations across the system. Aspirus St. Luke's, which operates the Two Harbors facility within the broader Aspirus network, has previously stated it is "committed to respectful, disciplined labor relations and to making thoughtful, sustainable decisions that advance our mission to heal people, promote health and strengthen communities."

With the contract now ratified, the MNA said its focus shifts from the bargaining table to contract enforcement and continued advocacy, with Lake View nurses committed to advancing patient-centered care that is, in the union's words, "accessible, sustainable and guided by frontline expertise.