The University of Chicago Medical Center and the National Nurses United union have reached a tentative agreement that will avert strikes scheduled for Thursday.
The Chicago health system said in a statement that its leaders and the NNU reached a tentative agreement for a new collective bargaining agreement just before midnight Monday. In return, NNU has withdrawn its strike notice for Thursday.
The Chicago nurses were expected to be among 6,400 registered nurses striking later this week, mostly in California. An NNU spokesman said strikes are still on at the eight other targeted facilities, including hospitals owned by Providence Health & Services, Sutter Health and Kaiser Permanente.
"We did have bargaining yesterday with Sutter and made proposals to try to produce movement," the NNU spokesman said in an e-mail. "But, as usual, Sutter is obsessed with its profit goals and rejected our proposals."
Sutter spokeswoman Karen Garner responded that the system's “proposals reflect our commitment to our valued nurses—and all of our employees—while also doing our part to help make our services more affordable for patients." NNU, Garner said, "follows a PR playbook and they pick themes they believe will resonate with the public—even if the claims are false.”
Both NNU and the University of Chicago Medical Center have agreed not to discuss the terms of the verbal agreements reached until a written collective bargaining agreement is completed, the hospital said. That process is expected to take place Tuesday.
“I can tell you that the agreement represents a fair compromise by both sides,” Debi Albert, the hospital's chief nursing officer wrote in a letter to nurses. “I am sure that NNU will announce the details of a ratification vote shortly so that we can put the contract negotiations behind us and return our focus to caring for our patients.”
Replacement nurses had been arranged to take the place of the unionized nurses for five days, starting with the day of the strike on Thursday. The replacement nurses will not be used now that an agreement has been reached, a spokeswoman for the Chicago medical center said.
NNU Midwest director Jan Rodolfo said the union will be holding a ratification vote to finalize the proposed contract on May 5. "We feel it's going to have a significant, positive impact on patient care," Rodolfo said.
