Nurses at Rush University Medical Center are working to unionize — a move that would make Rush one of the largest Chicago hospitals with a nurses union.
The registered nurses filed a petition Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election. The nurses would be represented by the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United.
Once they hold an election, if a majority of the nurses vote in favor of the union, Rush must then bargain with them in good faith over working conditions, according to processes outlined by the NLRB.
“We’re unionizing to protect our patients and to protect ourselves,” said Kira Pilate-Jean, a nurse in Rush’s orthopedic surgery unit.
The nurses hope to focus on safe staffing and nurse retention, Pilate-Jean said. “Our ultimate goal is to have a real voice in patient care.”
Pilate-Jean said “hundreds” of nurses would likely be part of the union.
Rush spokesperson Charlie Jolie said in a statement Thursday that Rush is aware of the nurses’ petition and will be “discussing this important topic with our nursing team” in coming weeks.
“At Rush, one of our greatest strengths is the way nurses, leaders and care teams work together as colleagues — raising concerns, addressing challenges and making improvements — directly and transparently,” Jolie said in the statement. “The most successful models for the delivery of health care empower individuals to raise issues in real time and to have them addressed at the departmental level.”
The Rush nurses needed at least 30% of potential bargaining unit members to sign union authorization cards to file the election petition with the National Labor Relations Board.
“It’s important for the nurses that care for patients to be cared for as well,” said Angel Arroyo, a nurse in Rush’s hematology and bone marrow transplant department.
If the Rush nurses succeed in unionizing, they’ll join a number of other Chicago hospitals and health systems where nurses are also unionized, including University of Chicago Medical Center, Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center and Cook County Health. Nurses at University of Illinois Hospital are unionized with the Illinois Nurses Association.
