Nurses end 7-day strike in Chicago — Fight Back! News

Chicago, IL – Working as a nurse at a large teaching hospital is hard. Patients come in in droves. Vulnerable people seek hope, healing and help. Despite this constant pressure, hospital administrators demand rapid patient turnarounds. Supervisors ask overworked nurses to take over the work of housekeepers, kitchen staff, technical staff and others who are often in short supply. Some doctors are nice, while others boss the nurses around.

This is the case at the University of Illinois Health (UIH), as well as healthcare facilities across the country. One difference is that UIH nurses have a union and decided to take a stand. The more than 1,700 members of the Illinois Nurses Association at UIH went on strike. Nurses who work at the large hospital, outside clinics and the new specialty care center paused their seven-day strike on Sunday, August 25.

There are still many unanswered questions, with staffing and safety at the top of the list. “We don't have enough staff to care for our patients,” said Maria Baba, a transplant and critical care nurse at UIH. Staffing shortages also put nurses, patients and other hospital staff at risk. Patients who need treatment for mental health issues can put remaining staff at risk. Families also become emotional and lash out when they know their loved ones aren't getting the care they deserve because the facility is understaffed.

Another issue is respect. UIH has never provided adequate support or recognition to health care workers during the pandemic. During the pandemic, UIH was a primary provider of health care for Chicago's poorer West Side neighborhood.

Hospital administrator salaries have skyrocketed in recent years. Inflation has risen 19 percent, hurting nurses' living standards. Despite this, UIH is only offering pay increases of 1.75 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Maria Baba, who sits on the union's negotiating team, said of management's proposal, “It's a joke. Just a joke.” When nurses return to work, they hope management has learned not to take them for granted. But if that happens, Maria said of future tactics, “Nothing is out of the question.”

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