The Illinois Nurses Association represents 1,700 nurses at UI Hospital who have been in contract negotiations since June. Nurses at the hospital system initially went on strike for one week when their contract ended in August. For the current strike, the nurses’ union did not give hospital leadership a strike end date.

They’ve been on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19. Now they’re on the picket lines. Why University of Illinois and UIC health care workers, including about 800 nurses, are on strike.

Hundreds of nurses at the University of Illinois Hospital took to the picket line Saturday for a weeklong strike amid contract negotiations between their union, the Illinois Nurses Association, and the hospital system.