(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Nearly 500 unionized nurses at Joliet’s St. Joseph Hospital will be locked out next week for four days by hospital operator Ascension.
This comes after nurses gave the hospital notice that they would hold a two-day strike, having seen little movement in contract negotiations over wages and short staffing.
St. Joseph nurse Beth Corsetti on Friday said bargaining has also now been put on hold until the second week of September.
St. Joseph nurses will be locked out Tuesday through Saturday, during which time the nurses will hold a picket line.
The hospital’s operator Ascension has not responded to a request for comment. A statement on its website explains that when hiring nurse replacements for the two-day strike, staffing agencies, by contract, require four days of work.
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