Chicago nurses strike to protest anti-union terminations

Chicago

Hundreds of Registered Nurses (RNs) carried out a one-day strike on June 11 in front of Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital here. They had called the strike to protest the hospital bosses’ illegal firing of six pro-union nurses who have helped lead an organizing campaign.

Bedside nurses at Saint Mary’s, who are multiethnic and from many nationalities, have been organizing with the militant, social justice-oriented National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU). They filed for a certified union election through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on May 20. 

Management retaliated against the RNs by terminating half a dozen of them and using intimidation tactics on the floor. Nurses filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge with the NLRB shortly after.

Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital is a for-profit facility owned by the notoriously anti-union Prime Healthcare. The June 11 labor action comes weeks after an overwhelming majority of bedside RNs at Rush University Medical Center — a separate institution — voted to join NNOC/NNU. RNs at Saint Mary’s are expected to hold their union election one week after the strike. 

RNs across Chicagoland and the U.S. are attracted to NNOC/NNU’s strong patient advocacy and class-conscious politics. NNOC/NNU was the first U.S. trade union to openly call for the abolishment of ICE and has publicly condemned imperialist wars. 

Class struggle unionism was reflected in the nurses’ chants. Picketers chanted “What’s disgusting? Union busting!” in addition to “Money for healthcare, not for warfare!” RNs on the picket line are excited about their upcoming election and their collective ability to place patient care over the hospital bosses’ greed.