JOLIET, IL — The nurses employed at AMITA Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet voted by an overwhelming majority of 91 percent in favor of going on strike. More than 700 votes nurses were eligible to vote. Of those who voted, 558 voted yes for going on strike and 53 nurses voted no.
There were four spoiled ballots, the nursing association said.
The nursing association has been working without an employment agreement since the current contract expired May 9. Voting by the nurses took place Thursday and Friday.
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.
Pat Meade, a registered nurse at St. Joe's who serves as a lead negotiator from the Illinois Nursing Association, told Joliet Patch on Friday night that there are still eight more collective bargaining sessions scheduled to occur in the coming days with the AMITA management staff.
"We will return to the bargaining table now and work toward a fair contract, but if there is no
movement from AMITA then a strike date will be set," Meade said.
The law requires unions to give healthcare employers a 10-day notification prior to striking to
allow for them to make plans to staff the facility for patients.
Earlier this week, the Illinois Nursing Association filed three unfair labor practice act complaints against the AMITA hospital with the National Labor Relations Board, citing the hospital for serious violations of national federal labor law:
- In the first series of charges, INA contends AMITA misrepresented its proposals to nurses with misleading and false information as well as coercing nurses to waive COVID incentive pay negotiated by the union.
- Among the more serious incidents in the second complaint includes an incident in which an AMITA manager interrogated nurses about their union activity, threatened nurses with a lockout, and that managers would be terminated if nurses strike.
- Since March, AMITA has refused to furnish information related to health insurance benefits without a broad confidentiality agreement and has failed to provide the requested data in a de-identified form. Since April, AMITA has failed and refused to bargain over health and welfare benefits, a mandatory subject of bargaining.
Meade said she hopes Friday's vote tally sends a strong message to AMITA's upper management: the nurses who are employed in Joliet are serious about walking off the job.
Meade said St. Joe's needs about 100 additional nurses to be at adequate staffing levels.
"We are looking to go back to the table as long as it takes to hammer out a deal," she said. "I think these results, it speaks resoundingly. The nurses are serious and we mean that."
Original Patch coverage:
Strike Vote For St. Joe's Nurses Set
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AMITA St. Joes Nurses Strike Vote Results - Joliet, IL Patch
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