Strike Vote For AMITA St. Joe's Nurses Set

JOLIET, IL — Hundreds of nurses who are employed at AMITA Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet will be taking a vote next week on whether to go on strike. The nursing association has been working without an employment agreement since the current contract expired May 9.

Voting by the nurses will take place May 28 and May 29. The election results do not mean the nurses will actually go on strike, but would provide the hospital's administration with a good idea how the day-to-day workers feel about their contract negotiations, according to Chris Martin of the Illinois Nurses Association.

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The labor disagreement comes at a time when the St. Joe's nurses have been working hectic schedules the past few months proving care for hundreds of new coronavirus patients. The Joliet hospital has provided care for hundreds of people who were diagnosed with the coronavirus since the outbreak hit Illinois in March.

According to the nurse association, a key labor with the hospital's management concerns the Extended Illness Bank benefit that lets nurses get up to 12 weeks of sick pay for any illness or injury more than four days.

“Removing our sick pay benefit and replacing it with an inferior short-term disability insurance plan sends a very negative message to nurses and front-line health care workers,” said Pat Meade, a registered nurse at St. Joe's who serves as a lead negotiator from the Illinois Nursing Association.

St. Joe's nurses and hospital management have been negotiating a new contract for more than a month without success. A federal mediator is also involved with the talks.

The nurses at St. Joe's want management to hire more nurses, especially in light of the pandemic. The Illinois Nursing Association said that between 15 and 20 nurses have tested positive for the new coronavirus since March, creating a greater need for hiring more skilled nurses at the Joliet hospital.

“The hospital has decreased the number of nurses form 825 in 2019 to 721 in 2020 and has not made significant strides in attempting to reduce its 16 percent vacancy rate,” Meade said in a statement. "There are not enough nurses in the ER, ICU and the COVID-19 unit.”

The Illinois Nurse Association said that nurses are at a heightened risk for the coronavirus and more than 75 nurses at the University of Illinois Hospital have tested positive and two have died.

The Illinois Nurse Association said it represents nurses who work for the state of Illinois at mental health facilities, developmental centers, correctional centers, Illinois Youth Centers, veteran’s administration homes, DCFS, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Public Health and public and private hospitals.

Related:

• Illinois Coronavirus Update May 21: 4,525 Deaths
• 89 Coronavirus Deaths So Far In Joliet
• Remove Joliet From Gov. Pritzker's Restore Illinois Plan: Mayor