ALBERT LEA — The Mayo Clinic locked out some 79 hospital workers Wednesday morning, one day after the group of nursing assistants, housekeepers and other workers went on a one-day strike over stalled labor negotiations.

A spokesman for the SEIU Healthcare Minnesota said its members were met at the doors of the Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea by Mayo management and security, who told them they could not return to work until Dec. 26.

The hospital previously said it would hire replacements for the striking workers on a one-week contract. Six maintenance workers, including those who operate the hospital boiler, were allowed back to work Wednesday.

Mayo followed through with the lockout even though Lt. Gov. Tina Smith on Tuesday urged them not to do so. Smith also chairs the corporate board overseeing Mayo’s $5.6 billion expansion in Rochester.

The union claimed it was the first healthcare lockout ever in Minnesota.