JOLIET (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Nurses at Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital in Joliet are walking off the job this morning for the latest in a series of strikes.
This is the third two-day strike by the nurses since last May.
They’ll be locked out for another two days because the contracts with replacements are a minimum of four days.
In a statement, hospital management called it “disappointing and unproductive.” It noted an offer of double-digit pay increases.
The union, the Illinois Nurses Association, said it rejected Ascension’s final offer for several reasons, including the company’s insistence on certain non-monetary terms and conditions of employment which, it asserts, would pose serious health and safety risks to both nurses and patients.
The union statement said the nurses have also been moved to strike by mounting chaos and divestment at the hospital.
Kaitylnd French is a nurse in the Oncology Unit, and addressed reporters Thursday during a picket session.
"We've been really affected by short staffing on all units. Negotiations have been extremely strained and frustrated. We're short anywhere from two to three nurses on the unit...Nurses are taking six to seven patients at a time," French said.
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