Nurses at University of Illinois Hospital picket in front of the hospital in the Illinois Medical District on Nov. 13, 2024. (Courtesy of Illinois Nurses Association)
Nurses at University of Illinois Hospital went on strike Wednesday for a second time this year amid ongoing contract negotiations. Nurses are raising concerns over what they describe as unsafe working conditions, understaffing and low wages.
The Illinois Nurses Association represents 1,700 nurses at UI Hospital who have been in contract negotiations since June. Nurses at the hospital initially went on strike for one week when their contract ended in August.
For the latest strike, the nurses’ union did not give hospital leadership a strike end date.
“We kind of feel that [leadership] dug in their heels and felt they could weather that one-week strike, thinking that maybe this problem would go away,” said Roberto Flores, a surgical nurse at UI Hospital and grievance co-chair at Illinois Nurses Association.
The nurses’ union is asking for increased staffing, higher pay to retain nurses and more security throughout the hospital, especially in the psychiatric department and emergency department where nurses are likely to experience higher incidences of violence from patients, according to Flores.
UI hospital system spokesperson Francesca Sacco said in a statement that its current proposal offers significant wage increases, and that the hospital has made numerous investments in safety technologies and programs to protect staff and patients.
“We are disappointed that despite progress in negotiations, we have not reached an agreement,” Sacco said in a statement. “UI Health will continue to bargain in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable and fair agreement.”
Before the strike in August, the UI hospital system secured a temporary restraining order to prevent certain union-represented registered nurses in critical care units from striking in order to protect the health and safety of patients, according to Sacco. The order remains in effect and was modified by a Cook County judge Tuesday to add additional units, Sacco added.
The hospital system has plans in place to mitigate staff disruptions that may occur over the coming weeks, according to Sacco, adding the hospital has also secured agency nursing staff to ensure patient care.
“UI Health values the critical role our nurses and other healthcare professionals play in fulfilling our mission and providing our patients with exceptional care, outcomes and experiences,” Sacco said in a statement.
A total of 47 negotiation sessions have been held since June.
Contract negotiations were held late into Tuesday night and are continuing Wednesday, according to the union.
“The med-surg nurses, the intermediate care nurses … they’re all out there working to address a lot of these issues that we’ve had for years at this point that management hasn’t addressed on their own,” Flores said. “That’s why they’re so willing to be out there on the strike line, to actually get some resolution to these problems.”
Contact Eunice Alpasan: @eunicealpasan | 773-509-5362 | [email protected]
