Union members that Mayo Clinic locked out of the Albert Lea hospital will be allowed back to work today. “They say their motto is the patient and people come first, but I don’t agree with that,” says union member Charlotte Nelson-Shocker. Mayo hired temporary workers after the union had a one-day strike over stalled contract negotiations. Mayo’s Ginger Plumbo says, “We have no other choice because we need to maintain safe patient care.” The two sides have another bargaining session Thursday (12/28). It comes as Albert Lea residents protest Mayo’s plan to move most of its inpatient services to Austin.