Nurses Picket Thursday Ahead Of Unionwide Public Service Strike

CHICAGO, IL — Over 900 Cook County Health nurses lined Stroger Hospital and other CCH locations throughout the Chicago area Thursday morning to protest what they have called chronic staffing shortages.

The nurses are only planning a one-day protest, but still hundreds are not allowed to participate in the interest of public safety, a court ruled Wednesday.

On Friday, even more workers are expected to walk out of their posts for a unionwide protest that will encompass all of SEIU Local 73, whose membership covers housekeeping, food service, mental health workers, physician assistants and more. Representatives from Cook County Health said they would be seeking a similar court-ordered injunction of Friday's protest in the interest of public safety.

A statement from National Nurses United said 98.6 percent of Cook County Health nurses voted to authorize a strike. Contract negotiations have been ongoing between CCH and nurses since October 2020. Their main concerns include lack of staffing and higher patient assignments which can lead to preventable medical errors such as bed sores, falls and injuries.

"Nurses are being pushed to a breaking point," Consuelo Vargas, an emergency room RN at Stroger Hospital, said in a press release. "Many patients have gone without care during the pandemic and are now beginning to seek treatment for their ongoing medical conditions. Yet we are constantly understaffed, and because of that, we are losing experienced nurses."

A spokeswoman for CCH said elective procedures and appointments had to be rescheduled due to the strike.

"CCH has onboarded nearly 800 nurses over the past year to provide critical patient care services in our hospitals and health centers as well as in the community to administer COVID-19 vaccines," the spokeswoman said in defense of hiring shortages.

Friday's protest will also touch on wage increases and health insurance premiums.