CHICAGO (CBS) – Hundreds of nurses at University of Illinois Health are starting… One week strike Monday at Near West Side Hospital, the day after their contract expired.
University of Illinois nurses, represented by the Illinois Nurses Association, staged a sit-in Monday morning, accusing the hospital of unfair labor practices.
The nurses' union accused the hospital of forcing them to work in unsafe conditions and understaffing them. The union said nurses had faced an increase in workplace violence in recent years.
The nurses are also demanding higher salaries, but they say hospital management has rejected or ignored the vast majority of their contractual demands, while seeking to expand the number of tasks they are required to perform. The nurses also say the hospital will not allow them to wear the kind of Covid personal protective equipment that would make them feel safe at work.
“They expect nurses to see more patients and maintain knowledge of a wider range of health issues, while acknowledging that the patients who come to us are generally sicker,” said Roberto Flores, a nurse on the National Nurses Association’s negotiating team. “On top of that, they tell us we have to accept a pay scale that puts us behind other hospitals in Chicago.”
UI Health representatives said the hospital is disappointed that they were unable to reach an agreement on a new contract with the nurses.
“UI Health will continue to negotiate in good faith for as long as necessary to reach a successful agreement,” the hospital said in a statement.
