It appears to be a stalemate between the nurses’ union and officials of Ascension St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Joliet over contract negotiations.
St. Joseph nurses last month overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer, despite hospital officials stating this was their “best and final” offer. Both parties have been in contract negotiations since May, and nurses have gone out on two strikes since their contract expired over the summer.
According to the hospital, provisions made in the contract offer include hiking the entry-level salaries by 19 percent in the first year of the contract, as well as offering raises in the second and third year of the proposed deal.
For nurses making middle-tier wages, the offer includes increasing their salary by nearly 17 percent in the first year, along with raises in the second and third years of the three-year proposed deal.
Nurses who have more than 30 years of experience would see an increase of their wage by 2 percent in the first year of the proposed contract, which, according to hospital officials, align with other Ascension hospitals in Illinois.
Pat Meade, a registered nurse in the recovery room, treasurer of the St. Joseph Nurses Association and past president of the Illinois Nurses Association, said retirement, benefits, staffing and how many sick days allowed for nurses are among the other issues that need to be ironed out. She said the union is asking officials at the hospital to return to the bargaining table and work toward an amenable solution for everyone concerned.
Meade said the critical care hospital and ER with advanced specialty care services has been short staffed, causing nurses to fear for the health of their patients. She claims the hospital has been down 325 nurses since 2018. Prior to Ascension, the hospital was under the auspices of Provena and Amita St. Joseph Medical Center.
Currently, Ascension has about 530 nurses on staff, but the ideal number to provide adequate quality medical care to patients is to have about 800 nurses, she said.
“We negotiated last Friday, and it was for naught as we are at an impasse,” said Meade, stating that the hospital plans to implement their offer on Jan. 21 despite the responses of nurses who do not want the proposed deal. “We had expectations, but they only want to discuss their last and final offer. It is unfortunate. That is all I can say.”
Meade said the impasse means the union is exploring “all options by speaking with lawyers to determine our next step.”
She noted that nurses not only have an issue with their wages, but with the working conditions, too.
“The main sticking point is pulling across the service line,” Meade said. “This means a labor delivery nurse can be assigned to the orthopedic department. Also, they do not pay regularly and when they do, its incorrect (wages). Every pay day, there are issues.
“We could do our jobs if we could maintain our nurses and make it a desirable place to work.”
Sarah Hurd, organizer of the Illinois Nurses Association, the parent group of St. Joseph Nurses Association, said many nurses do not choose Ascension as a place to work because they can make more money at nearby Advent Health Bolingbrook and Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox. She said this ultimately hurts the Joliet community.
Because the nurses previously accepted a salary freeze at 2019 levels, Hurd said they are asking for a 35 percent pay increase. She said that amount also considers inflation, and the proposal will be negotiated with the hospital.
Union officials claim the proposed wages are below market and the hospital can ask nurses to work in units that are outside of their specialty, which they say are “unfair and unsafe.”
In a statement issued, hospital officials said their offer has been nothing but “fair and reasonable.” While they are amenable to further meetings with the union, hospital officials say the details of their offer will not change.
