Jan. 30--University of Chicago Medicine nurses have given their overwhelming approval to strike.
Jan Rodolfo, Midwest director of National Nurses United, which represents 1,500 U. of C. nurses, said 95 percent of the nurses who voted Thursday evening authorized the bargaining team to issue a strike notice, if necessary. The union did not disclose vote totals.
The hospital responded in a statement that it was "extremely disappointed" with the outcome, calling the vote "premature" with negotiations ongoing.
"UCMC does not want a strike," the hospital said, adding, "We have a comprehensive plan in place to ensure our patient care operations continues smoothly if the NNU calls for (a strike). It is our hope that we will not need to initiate this plan."
Nurses have worked without a contract since the end of October.
A hospital proposal introduced this month calls for the elimination of incentive pay for nurses who work more than 24 straight hours. The hospital also wants nurses to nearly double their contribution to health care costs to 25 percent by July 1, 2016.
The base pay of U. of C. nurses ranges from $58,000 to $148,000 a year. The hospital said the average compensation for its nurses is about $100,000 annually, which includes wages and incentive pay, pay for shift differentials and premiums for being on-call. The figure does not include benefits.
The union said its vote is not tied to wage proposals. Rather, union negotiations have focused on noneconomic issues such as staffing levels and overnight shifts.
For example, the union wants the hiring of additional nurses to care for patients during breaks. It also wants the hospital to end its practice of having rotating nurses work night and day shifts. The hospital wants those nurses to pick up more night shifts.
The hospital wants nurses in charge of units to become supervisors without patients. The union counters that the proposal would in effect eliminate a position.
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