Oppose Essentia Health's Merger With Marshfield Clinic!

Essentia Health is the largest employer in this region.  Over the last couple of decades it has swallowed up numerous other healthcare companies, and has expanded across multiple states.  Its clinics and hospitals stretch from Hayward, WI to Bismark, ND.  This expansion has come at a price though.  The last several years have seen dramatically increasing the workloads of their already stressed workers.  The company laid off hundreds of workers during the pandemic – using that crisis as an excuse for resizing its Duluth workforce to better fit its new billion dollar hospital.  And it has been holding down wages.  At the same time the compensation for its CEO has been soaring, with double digit annual increases.

And now Essentia is looking to dramatically expand even further by merging with the Marshfield Clinic system in Wisconsin.  We say it's time to stand up to the leviathon!  Before this latest merger can move forward, it has to be signed off on by the Minnesota Attorney General.  This Wednesday, the Attorney General’s office is holding a community hearing on this proposed merger.  We urge folks to turn out and demand that Essentia revere its priorities, and to invest in patient care and worker compensation, rather that CEO salaries and mega-mergers!

The hearing will be on Wednesday, Oct. 25 from 5:30-7pm.  It will be held in the Rafter’s Room of the UMD Kirby Student Center in Duluth.  You can sign up to speak out via the MN Attorney General's website: https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2023/10/03_HealthcareMergers.asp