Gregg Sherrard Blesch, Daily Southtown, May 7, 2006

Cook County nurses pulled back on a strike threat after their bargainers claimed progress Saturday.

But the threat stands.

The nurses failed to get what they wanted in all areas, said Fernando Losada, the Midwest director for their union, the National Nurses Organizing Committee.

Rising employee contributions toward benefits, for example, remain a hurdle to a new contract, Losada said.

"That's what's creating such a volatile, intense situation where we've got a hair trigger on the strike," he said. ... Nurses