Loretto Hospital workers on strike over pay, staffing levels
CHICAGO (CBS) -- About 200 workers at Loretto Hospital have gone on strike, asking for increases in pay, and more hiring to address what they say are unsafe staffing levels.
Represented by the union SEIU Healthcare Illinois, the workers walked off the job Monday morning, after the latest contract negotiations on Sunday ended without a deal.
Union members picketed outside the Loretto Hospital emergency room beginning around 7 a.m. Monday.
"Loretto is facing a significant staffing crisis, with vacancy rates ranging from 25 to 35% in various positions and an annual staff turnover of 60%," SEIU Healthcare Illinois said in a press release. "In contract bargaining, workers are demanding the living wages needed to address unsafe staffing, and Juneteenth as a permanent holiday."
The hospital said in a statement they were not able to reach an agreement with SEIU despite bargaining all weekend, and until midnight Sunday night.
"The SEIU has refused to provide a counteroffer to our latest proposal, which is very disappointing. Loretto Hospital has submitted many proposals to address the SEIU's demands for more competitive wages, recruitment and retention, short staffing, and an additional holiday. In some classifications, the SEIU is demanding more than 20% wage increases when longevity is included," the hospital said in a statement.
Loretto management said union members are striking "solely because the SEIU wants impractical first year wage increases. The strike will be about money, not patient safety."
Union members said the strike is actually about patients who are affected when there is a staffing crisis.
"Mount Sinai Hospital, as I mentioned earlier, pays [certified nursing assistants] $2 more an hour. St. Bernard Hospital, where we just finished negotiations, also have a similar wage scale. So what Loretto is saying is nonsense," SEIU Healthcare Illinois president Greg Kelley said.
The workers said they plan to continue picketing outside the hospital until 7 p.m. on Monday, and will remain on strike until their demands are met.
