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Illinois nurses begin strike at UI Hospital, citing safety and pay concerns

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Published  November 13, 2024 11:07am CST
Health
FOX 32 Chicago

UI Health nurses on strike due to safety, pay concerns

Nurses with the Illinois Nurses Association began their strike at the University of Illinois Hospital early Wednesday morning, gathering in large numbers to march around the facility.

CHICAGO - Nurses with the Illinois Nurses Association began their strike at the University of Illinois Hospital early Wednesday morning, gathering in large numbers to march around the facility.

The nurses have been working without a contract since summer, as they and hospital management have not yet reached an agreement on issues of compensation and workplace safety.

UI Health Nurse Eileen Fajardo-Furlin highlighted concerns over unreported instances of workplace violence.

"They have a committee made up of all management, 30 of them who sit in offices making plans on how to make us safe. It seems to me, it’s obvious, if you want to know what’s going on, you speak to the nurses who are at the bedside," said Fajardo-Furlin.

"We are here, we are state employees. Our mission is to serve the underserved, not to line our pockets like the administrators have done," added nurse Lori Christopher.

In response, UI Health issued a statement asserting that their nurses are compensated above 90 percent of other nurses in Chicago and that they are actively addressing safety concerns through a workplace violence prevention committee that includes both staff and leadership.

Below is the full statement from UI Health:

Effective today, Wed., Nov. 13, at 7 a.m., registered nurses represented by the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) have decided to go on strike for an undetermined period. 

We are disappointed that despite progress in negotiations, we have not reached an agreement. UI Health will continue to bargain in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable and fair agreement. 

UI Health nurses are critical to the hospital’s mission of clinical excellence and safe patient care. While we fully respect our nurses’ right to strike, we hope the INA will continue to work with us toward a new agreement.  

When it comes to the top issues that matter to our UI Health nurses—compensation and safety and security—the university has made substantive offers that would lead to meaningful benefits.  

COMPENSATION  

Our nurses deserve top compensation—and they receive it. The majority of UI Health nurses currently are paid better than 90% of nurses in the Chicagoland area. Under our current proposal, we offer significant wage increases so that our UI Health nurses will continue to receive top pay compared to their Chicagoland peers. Our proposal also includes raising supplemental pay and bonuses.  

Importantly, nurses value working at UI Health. Over the last four years, the turnover rate of INA-represented nurses was half the national average (11% vs. 21%).  

SAFETY AND SECURITY  

UI Health is committed to the safety of our work and care environments. Sadly, workplace violence against health care staff, particularly nurses, is a growing concern across the nation and is a concern that UI Health shares. UI Health has made numerous investments in safety technologies and programs to protect staff and patients. We have also established a workplace violence prevention committee comprised of staff and hospital leadership working in partnership to address concerns and assess any potential threats.   

These safety improvements have contributed to a decrease in workplace violence incidents against our staff, including:  

  • A 40% decrease in hospital-reported employee injuries.  
  • A 20% decrease in hospital workplace violence incidents.  
  • A 50% decrease in adult inpatient psychiatry workplace violence incidents.  
  • A 25% decrease in Emergency Department workplace violence incidents.  

 TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER 

Prior to the first INA strike in August, UI Health secured a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent certain INA-represented registered nurses in critical care units from striking in order to protect the health and safety of our patients in those units and the public at large. 

This TRO — which remains in effect but was slightly modified by a Cook County Judge on Tuesday, Nov. 12, to add additional units — was issued by the court to balance the important need to protect the health and safety of the public with the rights of our INA-represented nurses to strike if they so choose. 

We believe frequent bargaining is essential to achieving a mutually acceptable agreement and will continue to offer to meet with the INA bargaining team until we reach an agreement. To date, we have had 47 negotiation sessions. 

Patient care is our primary responsibility. Our focus is maintaining the highest level of safety and care for our patients while ensuring the efficiency of our facilities and operations. We have comprehensive plans in place to anticipate, respond to and mitigate staff disruptions that may occur over the coming weeks.  UI Health has secured agency nursing staff to ensure continued access to high-quality 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.