The Illinois Nurses Association, which represents nurses at Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet (Ill.), has reached a tentative new labor contract with the nurses' employer.
The union announced the tentative three-year agreement on May 13 following three strikes that have occurred at the Joliet facility over the last year.
Both parties continued passing proposals through a mediator after a May 7 bargaining session, and on May 9, the union proposed an additional offer and asked for a response by end of day May 10 to avert a potential joint strike with the nurses of Ascension Genesys in Michigan, according to the INA. On May 10, nurses at Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet put in a 10-day notice that they would join the Michigan nurses on their strike. The INA withdrew its notice of intent to strike on May 11 after receiving another offer from Ascension and deciding to bring it to union members for a vote.
"This tentative agreement enshrines that nurses will only be pulled to areas of the hospital outside their specialty on a voluntary basis," the union said in a news release shared with Becker's. "It also honors the most senior nurses at the hospital with additional paid time off and contains a lump sum payment for all nurses."
An Ascension spokesperson shared the following statement with Becker's: "Out of respect for the ratification process, we will not speak to details of the agreement until INA has a chance to meet with their membership to review the proposed contract and host the necessary ratification vote.
"We would like to express our appreciation to the Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet and INA bargaining teams for their diligent work in reaching this mutually beneficial agreement.
We look forward to successful ratification of the agreement."
"There are some significant wins for us in this deal," Sarah Hurd, an organizer with the INA, said in the union release. "But ultimately, this choice must be made by the majority of nurses working day in and day out at this hospital. They will decide for themselves democratically whether this is a contract they can work under for the next three years."
Nurses will be reviewing and voting on the contract over the next two weeks, with voting results finalized before June 1.
Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet is part of St. Louis-based Ascension.