Nurses at University of Illinois Hospital & Clinics have ended a four-day strike, after reaching a tentative contract agreement with UI Health late Saturday night.
The nurses began their strike Nov. 13, with no set end date. The strike was the second one since August, when the nurses’ last contract expired. About 1,700 nurses are part of the Illinois Nurses Association unit that went on strike.
The nurses returned to work Sunday morning.
The tentative four-year contract agreement reached late Saturday night includes improved hospital safety protocols, higher wages and nurse input into staffing decisions, according to the union.
The nurses’ bargaining team was “thrilled” to reach the deal, according to a union news release, and they believe it will lead to better staffing and safety. The nurses had argued over the course of negotiations that they needed better security to protect them from patient attacks.
“Our members have been deeply involved in these negotiations, from the drafting of language to watching our update calls week after week,” nurse Liz Flores said in a news release. “They knew what this staff and its patient community deserves and they were ready to fight for it.”
UI Health said in a statement: “The tentative agreement is the result of extensive discussions and negotiations by all parties and a commitment to reaching a fair and mutually beneficial contract. In the end, both sides worked to reach positions that are beneficial for staff, the University, the Hospital & Clinics, and, most importantly, our patients and community.”
During the strike, University of Illinois Hospital used agency nurses to fill in for those on strike, told patients that their appointments might be rescheduled, and limited patient transfers from other hopsitals. A Cook County Circuilt Court judge also modified a temporary restraining order before the strike prohibiting 68 nurses at a time, who worked in certain units, from going on strike, after the University of Illinois Board of Trustees argued in court that it could be dangerous if all of those nurses walked off the job at once.
Nurses will vote on whether to ratify the contract Tuesday.
The nurses also went on a weeklong strike in 2020.