Minnesota Nurses Association nurses announced early Friday they intend to hold an indefinite strike on July 6 if a new contract cannot be finalized beforehand.

In a statement posted on their blog after a negotiation session on Thursday, June 24 with a federal mediator, MNA said the bargaining proved fruitless.

“Our nurses spent more than 13 hours today doing our best to stay hopeful about negotiations,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, zero progress was made.”

Thursday’s session was the first time representatives from MNA and the 14 metro area hospitals met to negotiate in three weeks.

More than 84 percent of the nurses voted to authorize the strike on Monday, June 21.