More than two dozen nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association, as well as community members, walked Wednesday to show support for their bargaining unit on the first day of contract negotiations with Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea.

Bargaining unit co-chairwoman Kathy Lehman said the walks are meant to inform fellow nurses on the progress of negotiations and to take advantage of nice weather.

“(We) just enjoy being together while talking about stuff that is near and dear to us,” she said.

They are walking every Wednesday afternoon in front of the hospital and east on Fountain Street to Fountain Lake gazebo, before returning to the hospital. The first walk was May 18.

Lehman said she was disappointed with the concessions the hospital asked union nurses to make on the first day of negotiations, such as eliminating increased holiday pay, weekend bonuses and shift differentials.

The contract expires June 30, according to a statement released by Mayo Clinic.

“We respect the right of the employees to peacefully express their position,” the statement reads. “We will continue to bargain in good faith and are optimistic that we will reach a contract agreement acceptable to all parties. As always, our main focus remains on ensuring our patients receive safe, high-quality health care and on the wellbeing of all of our staff.”

Lehman said the union wants transparency and compromise in the bargaining process.

“We want something that supports great patient care, patient safety, nurse safety — something that is economically viable,” she said. “We don’t think we are out of line — certainly we are reasonable enough to know that we are not going to get everything we are looking for, and certainly they are reasonable enough to know that they are not going to be successful in getting everything they are looking for from us, as well.”

In a letter published in the Tribune last week, Lehman said food service and maintenance groups in Albert Lea and Austin “encountered difficult and protracted negotiations.”

Lehman said in the letter nurses were hopeful they would be met at future negotiations with “a spirit of mutual respect and a desire to engage in meaningful dialogue with a shared commitment to the dignity of every person, a safe work environment, fair wages/benefits and a stable workforce.”