Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press, March 23, 2011 Chicago - Union nurses plan to sever their contract with University of Chicago Medical Center before a strike vote next month, the lead union negotiator for the nurses said Wednesday. Contract negotiations have been under way since August between the powerhouse National Nurses United and the city's premier South Side hospital. Nurses are satisfied with salary increases in the current contract, but are unhappy about staffing levels and scheduling, said Jan Rodolfo of National Nurses United. University of Chicago's nearly 1,300 registered nurses have been represented by National Nurses United, the nation's largest nurses union with 155,000 members ... UCMC

Associated Press, May 21, 2010 Chicago - Nurses at University of Chicago Medical Center have voted to join a new union and hope to reopen talks with the hospital on staffing issues. The hospital's registered nurses voted Thursday to switch to National Nurses United, a national union. They had been represented by the Illinois Nurses Association. The vote was conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. Union leaders say they'll push for changes in minimum staffing ratios. The union also wants an end to rotations in which nurses shift between working days and nights. The hospital and nurses recently agreed on a contract, which nurses approved in April. Hospital officials say current nurse-to-patient staffing levels are in line with other academic medical centers locally and nationwide.

Mike Colias, Crain’s, May 21, 2010 Nurses at the University of Chicago Medical Center are bolting an Illinois-based union for the nation’s largest nursing alliance, and they intend to use their newfound clout to demand changes to a recently inked labor contract. U of C’s 1,300 registered nurses voted Thursday to be represented by the Washington, DC-based National Nurses United, leaving the incumbent Illinois Nurses Association. The U of C nurses “will use the clout of their new national union to press for critical patient safety changes at the medical center, including improved patient staffing and an end to scheduling practices that undermine patient-care conditions” ... U

WBEZ, May 21, 2010 Nurses at the University of Chicago Medical Center have voted to join a new union. The move throws uncertainly into labor relations at the South Side hospital. About 1,300 nurses at U of C will join National Nurses United. The nurses say they may reopen talks about their latest contract, ratified just last month. They say that contract doesn’t do enough to address staffing levels. Tom Magana is a nurse in the intensive care unit. “National Nurses United is for staffing ratios which you get better patient outcomes. And we all here want to take care of our patients in the best way we can.” ... University

Mike Hall, AFL-CIO, May 21, 2010 Some 1,300 registered nurses at the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) are the newest members of the National Nurses United (NNU). The UCMC nurses voted last night to join the nation’s largest RN union. The nurses say their top priorities are critical patient safety changes at the medical center, including improved patient staffing and an end to scheduling practices that undermine patient care conditions. NNU Co-President Jean Ross says the UCMC nurses “have worked very hard to enhance patient care conditions and secure better standards for patients and nurses,” but faced management resistance. ... Chicago

John Bachtell, People’s Weekly World, September 28, 2009 Chicago – “This vigil is a symbol of our commitment to justice. We are not giving up. We’ll keep on organizing and win a union at Resurrection Health Care (RHC),” declared Shirley Brown. “We’ll continue to fight for better lives.” Brown, a leading rank-and-file organizer, was speaking at the conclusion of a 36-hour Vigil for Justice September 26 sponsored by Healthcare Employees Acting at Resurrection Together (HEART), AFSCME and their labor, religious and community allies in support of a 7-year fight for union recognition for 8,000 workers. Resurrection is a network of 8 hospitals sponsored by two Catholic orders ... Resurrection

Illinois Nurses Association District 20, November 5, 2008 The Illinois Nurses Association District 20 (INA D20) represents nurses working and living in the south and southwest Chicagoland suburbs, including NW Indiana. Throughout the year the INA D20 holds programs that are open to all to attend. Programs include such topics as Violence in the Educational Setting, Addictions and Prevention, MRSA, and even Financial Planning for Retirement. To support these programs they hold fundraising events and an annual Fundraising Holiday Event. This year the holiday event is scheduled for December 5 at the Hilton Oak Lawn. ... Illinois

Mike Colias, Crain's, August 7, 2007 Nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital
have rejected a national union's bid to organize at the West Side
institution. The nurses voted against the union, the National Nurses
Organizing Committee, by 293 to 152 in June, according to a hospital
statement released late Monday. Fernando Losada, the union's director
of collective bargaining for Illinois, said hospital officials swayed
the outcome by exerting pressure on nurses through "intimidation and
misinformation." ... Mount

Judy Masterson, Waukegan News Sun, June 30, 2007 Waukegan - An ER
technician who is attempting to organize a union for nurses at Vista
Medical Center East in Waukegan has won a settlement from the hospital
in a case that went before the National Labor Relations Board. Jude
Rodriguez, 32, of Gurnee, said he was removed from the work schedule at
Vista East after management identified him as a key union organizer for
San Francisco-based (sic) California Nursing (sic) Association/National
Nurses Organizing Committee, which represents 70,000 nurses around the
country including Cook County. "Organizing efforts were going pretty
strong when they called me in for a meeting," said Rodriguez, who
started at the former Provena St. Therese Medical Center - now Vista

Jonathan Lipman, Chicago Daily Southtown, April 28, 2007 Cook County health bureau officials have misled the public about the effect of closing neighborhood clinics, the county nurses' union is arguing, and patients may have to wait months for an appointment if their clinic is closed. As part of its strident battle with board President Todd Stroger's administration, the National Nurses Organizing Committee on Friday released a report on the clinic cuts while protesting the county's layoff of 61 nurses. More layoffs may be coming, as the county plans to eliminate 239 nurses' jobs as part of the 2007 budget. ... Nurses

Overwhelmingly Positive Response Results in 4:1 Vote Ratio. Illinois Nurses Association, April 19, 2007 Chicago - University of Chicago Medical Center nurses celebrated the ratification of the new contract last night after it passed with an overwhelming 4:1 vote ratio. "We won for our nurses, we won for our patients and we won for ourselves," said Dotty Russell, Local Unit Chair. "This victory demonstrates the solidarity of the nurses at UCH." The contract includes provisions for a staffing plan utilizing nursing judgment. The creation of the joint acuity task force will result in a safer environment for both nurses and patients at UCH by determining staffing needs by the actual level of care each patient requires. Without consideration of the patient, other staffing systems will not work. ... University

Jonathan Lipman, Chicago Daily Southtown, March 28, 2007 An immigrants rights group plans a protest today in response to comments made by the chief of the Cook County Health Bureau that suggested the county should deport some immigrant patients. The March 10 Movement plans a joint protest outside county board President Todd Stroger's office with the National Nurses Organizing Committee - the vocal union representing Cook County nurses that has organized several protests over budget cuts. Both groups oppose Robert Simon's leadership of the county health system and plan to call today for his resignation. The planned protest earned a blistering response from the Stroger administration, which said the nurses' union was more interested in protests than patients. ... Immigrants

Illinois Nurses Association, March 29, 2007 Chicago - Senate Bill 0867, Nurse Staffing by Patient Acuity, passed out of the Senate Committee and is now before the entire Senate! The deadline for all bills before the Senate is March 30th. Nurses from all over the state are urgently lobbying their legislators to support this staffing plan. For over 100 years, the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) has been representing Illinois nurses with unwavering advocacy (sic) for workplace issues to promote patient safety and quality nursing care. INA is spearheading legislation to require nurse staffing in hospitals to be based on patient acuity (needs). ... Nurse

Stephanie Szuda, Ottawa (IL) Times, March 17, 2007 Local nurses feel one size does not fit all when it comes to hospital staffing issues. Nurses have been opposing proposed legislation that would require hospitals to meet a mandated nurse-to-patient ratio, citing cost and a shortage of nurses as reasons. If Illinois House Bill 392 were to pass, more nurses would be needed in the La Salle County area. Most local hospitals operate on patient acuity, which is the number of nurses needed as defined by the level of care their current patients need, said Maeanne Stevens, director of nursing at Community Hospital of Ottawa. If the hospital were run on predetermined nurse-patient ratio, it is more likely for medical centers to be inadequately staffed (sic!). ... Nurses

Associated Press, March 13, 2007 Springfield - Legislation to force Illinois hospitals to meet minimum nurse-to-patient ratios passed through a House committee Tuesday, but then hit a wall. Several members of the Health Care Availability and Access Committee said they would consider ratios but could not support House Bill 392 in its current form. Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, who sponsored the bill, then pledged to seek a compromise with the Illinois Nurses Association and the Illinois Hospital Association, both of which opposed it. With that promise, the committee passed the bill, 8-3. The next step in the legislative process would be a vote before the full House. ... Nurse