Jan. 16--University of Chicago Medicine nurses have scheduled a Jan. 29 vote on whether to strike, their union said late Thursday.
The vote would come a day before negotiations are scheduled to resume, a union spokeswoman said.
In a blog post, Debi Albert, chief nursing officer at University of Chicago Medicine, said she was "extremely surprised" to learn about the scheduled strike vote and urged nurses not to walk out if a strike is called.
"We do not want an NNU strike and are committed to bargaining in good faith," Albert wrote.
If a strike is authorized, nurses would strike for a day, said Jan Rodolfo, Midwest director of National Nurses United, which represents 1,500 U. of C. nurses.
Rodolfo said negotiations have focused on noneconomic issues such as staffing levels and overnight shifts. Negotiations have gone on for about four months.
Nurses have been working without a contract since it expired at the end of October.
Acancino@tribpub.com
Twitter @WriterAlejandra
