UI Health providers authorize strike amid dispute over pay raises
Hundreds of UI Health’s advanced practice nurses, physician assistants and midwives voted to strike last week after they say they were denied raises given to other hospital workers.
The 200 providers voted “overwhelmingly” to deliver a 10-day strike notice on Friday to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board and University of Illinois Chicago, according to their union, SEIU Local 73. The union says UIC denied the providers a 2% wage increase in August that was given to other hospital staff.
The providers could strike as soon as Nov. 11. The union, which has not announced if and when they’ll strike, says they would rather negotiate than strike. But SEIU and UIC have been at odds for over a year over whether the union is allowed to represent the providers, and UI Health says the strike would violate a court order.
“UIC Advanced Practice Providers have voted to strike because of the egregious behavior of their employer, which refuses to come to the bargaining table and continues their lawsuit to stop the workers from gaining the respect and compensation they deserve,” SEIU Local 73 President Dian Palmer said in a news release.
SEIU Local 73 also claims UIC filed a motion with the state appellate court to stop bargaining while also saying that any wage increase would need to be bargained.
“This duplicitous behavior is what led to workers voting to strike,” the union said in a statement. SEIU says the 200 providers have gone two years without a raise or a cost-of-living adjustment.
In a statement, UI Health says the state appellate court entered an order temporarily pausing collective bargaining between the university and the union.
“UI Health maintains that a strike would be unlawful while the court’s order remains in effect and until the legal requirements for a lawful strike have been met. We expect the union to follow the law and allow the legal process to proceed,” the statement reads. “Should a work stoppage occur, we have comprehensive contingency plans in place to maintain operations and ensure safe, high-quality patient care at the University of Illinois Hospital & Clinics.”
The providers are also “fighting for pay that keeps pace with the market, pay transparency and equity, safe staffing, and the ability to take meal breaks and use earned sick time,” according to their union.
