AUSTIN — Loretto Hospital workers walked off the job Monday morning, saying management refuses to provide them living wages as the two sides remain in a stalemate on a new contract.
About 200 workers represented by SEIU Healthcare — including emergency room technicians, mental health workers and radiology technicians — are now on strike after delivering a 10-day warning. West Side leaders applauded their efforts early Monday.
The embattled “safety net” hospital — which reshaped its leadership after corruption scandals funneled COVID-19 vaccines to wealthy neighborhoods and sent millions in contracts to insiders — made “several proposals” over the weekend as the two sides scrambled to find common ground, lead SEIU negotiator Anne Igoe said. But Loretto has not budged on offering workers wages about $2 an hour below industry standards, Igoe said.
A bevy of West Side leaders joined about 50 workers as they traded their scrubs for purple union shirts and revved up their picket line with signs reading “Respect Us, Staff Us, Pay Us.”
Notable speakers included Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd), Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), state Rep. Marcus Evans Jr., state Sen. Robert Peters, Cook County Commissioner Tara Stamps, Pastor Ira J. Acree and State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who resigned from Loretto’s board after turmoil spread within the hospital’s executive suite during the pandemic.
“They got the money, so we don’t want the excuses,” Evans said. “Take care of the people who are taking care of your community.”
Ford said the crater between the union and management is about $400,000 over three years. The hospital remains open and has brought on temporary workers to fill in for those striking — and has already paid them more than what union workers are asking for, said Greg Kelley, president of SEIU Healthcare Illinois.
About 120 union workers have left the hospital in the last year because of subpar pay, contributing to a 60 percent turnover rate, Kelley said. Those who remain juggle multiple positions at once and work up to seven days a week, leading to injuries, striking workers said.
Worker Jessita Davis was moved to tears as she described working double shifts daily to make ends meet. Many tenured full-time staffers at the hospital are making just $17-18 an hour, Igoe and workers said.
“I can’t pay my bills because I’m underpaid,” Davis said. “But I still come to work every day because I have to take care of my son, and I love my job. So I’m here.”
In a statement, Loretto Hospital spokesperson Bonni Pear said the two sides bargained throughout the weekend into the early morning, but were not able “to reach an equitable and sustainable agreement” with the union.
Pear said SEIU Healthcare has not countered their latest proposals and is “demanding” 20 percent wage increases, an “impractical ask” given budget constraints on the low-income hospital, which primary serves Black and Brown patients on the city’s West Side.
“The strike will be about money, not patient safety,” Pear said in the statement. “There are contingency plans in place that allow the hospital to continue to operate and meet patient care requirements.”
Igoe said the hospital conceded overnight on making Juneteenth a work holiday but is still only offering raises about 2-3 percent yearly, far below inflation.
“$17 is not a practical starting rate,” Igoe said. “This is the West Side of Chicago with a busy emergency room … With the proposal management gave us, they should be ashamed of themselves.”
Workers remained on the picket line outside the hospital Monday afternoon, joined by a second round of supporting city officials, including State Sen. Omar Aquino, State Rep. Lilian Jiménez, Cook County Board Commissioner Monica Gordon and Ald. Matt Martin (47th).
Igoe said the union had countered at noon Monday with proposals to increase starting minimum salaries in a bid to retain and recruit more workers. The hospital did not budge from its previous offer of 2 percent yearly raises for new employees, Igoe said.
They walked away from the table again five minutes after the union’s offer without a counter, Igoe said.
Union organizers cited $8 million in funding given to Loretto Hospital at the last state legislative session in June and delivered in July, earmarked for “workforce recruitment, retention and development.”
“Loretto has the money … and they’re refusing to allocate it towards our members,” said Erica Bland-Durosinmi, executive vice president for SEIU Healthcare.
Earlier Monday, Resident Lisa Montgomery joined workers as they marched in front of the hospital.
“When the nurses are outside, something is wrong inside,” Montgomery said.
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