Above photo: University of Illinois Health transplant and ICU nurse Maria Baba is an INA leader and member of the bargaining committee. Richard Berg/Fight Back! News.
Chicago, Illinois – Working as a nurse in a large university hospital is a hard job. Large numbers of patients roll through. Vulnerable people look for hope, remedy and help. Despite this persistent pressure, hospital administrators ask for quick patient turnover. Supervisors ask overstressed nurses to do the work of housekeepers, food service, technical staff and others, who are often in short supply. Some doctors are nice, while others boss 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 the nurses at UIH have a labor union and decided to take a stand. The more than 1700 members of Illinois Nurses Association at UIH went on strike. Nurses that work in the large hospital, outside clinics and the new specialty care center suspended their seven-day strike on Sunday, August 25.
There are still many outstanding issues, with staffing and safety at the top of the list. “We do not have enough staff to provide for our patients,” said Maria Baba, a UIH transplant and ICU nurse. Understaffing puts nurses, patients and other hospital staff at risk as well. Patients that need treatment for mental health issues can put the remaining staff at risk. Family also get emotional and strike out when they know their loved ones are not getting the care that they deserve because the facility is understaffed.
Another issue is respect. UIH never gave adequate support or recognition to healthcare workers during the pandemic. UIH was a primary provider of healthcare for Chicago’s low-income West Side neighborhood during the pandemic.
Hospital administrators’ salaries have skyrocketed in recent years. Inflation has gone up 19%, eating into nurses’ standard of living. Despite this, UIH is offering wage increases of only 1.75% and 2%. Maria Baba, who sits on the union negotiating team, said of management proposal, “It is a joke. Just a joke.” As nurses return to work, they hope that management learned not to take them for granted. But if they do, Maria said of future tactics, “Nothing is off the table.”