Too often, when Hennepin Healthcare staff raise constructive ideas or dissenting viewpoints to improve patient care, they are met not with dialogue, but with silence, exclusion, or retaliation.

​

All frontline staff have been suffering under a culture of fear and arbitrary discipline that inherently protects institutional gatekeepers. Workers of color and women continue to face disproportionate impacts, while the communities we serve are also harmed by a lack of collaboration from our leadership.

​

Although our mission is to provide "exceptional care without exception," we are falling short. More than 20% of our patients prefer to communicate in a language other than English, yet instead of investing in the resources they need, leadership prioritizes profits over patient care. As a result, both patients and staff are suffering.

These practices erode the transparency and collaboration that Hennepin Healthcare claims to uphold, and undermines the standard of care that Minnesotans deserve.

​

HCMC is a public institution. It does not belong to a handful of executives, it belongs to the community it serves.

​

We call on the Hennepin County Board to:
• Authorize an investigation into labor relations and workplace retaliation by an outside, independent agency.
• Ensure transparent processes to raise concerns without fear of reprisal.
• Protect workers' rights to free speech and collective action through our unions.
• Require management training that centers accountability and support for workers and our input.