Saint Joseph's Nurses Urged By Union To Reject Best, Final Offer

JOLIET, IL — Nurses at Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital in Joliet are being urged to reject a contract offer that union representatives say has been rammed down nurses' throats but that, officials said, places nurses’ licenses in jeopardy and patients at risk.

The nurses received a last, best and final contract offer from the hospital on Tuesday, both the union and hospital confirmed to Patch on Thursday. However, a spokesman for the Illinois Nurses Association said after reviewing the hospital's latest proposal, the union is unanimously recommending the offer be turned down when nurses vote on Monday and Tuesday next week.

The union accuses the hospital of negotiating in bad faith, since nurses have worked without a contract since July. However, hospital officials argue just the opposite, saying in a statement issued to Patch on Thursday that they believe the offer made on Tuesday is “fair and respectful of the diverse needs of registered nurses” at the hospital.

According to the hospital, the offer includes increasing entry-level wages by 19 percent in the first year of the contract. The bump in pay, the hospital says, ensures market-competitive levels of pay and aids with the recruitment of nurses. The offer would offer raises in the second and third year of the proposed deal.

The offer also includes increasing middle-tier wages by nearly 17 percent in the first year of the contract, as well as raises in the second and third years of the three-year deal. Nurses with more than 30 years of experience would see an increase of their market wage by 2 percent in the first year of the proposed contract to align with other Ascension Illinois hospitals.

The nurses — as well as those with between 20 and 29 years of experience — would also see raises in the second and third year of the contract as well as be eligible for lump sum bonuses, a hospital spokesperson said.

Since working without a contract since mid-July, nurses at the Joliet hospital have engaged in a pair of two-day strikes as they continue their fight for better wages and working conditions.

“Unfortunately, every week that goes by is another week we are unable to implement these wage increases, which not only impacts each of our nurses but also affects Saint Joseph — Joliet’s ability to competitively hire and retain RNs from across the region, as well as attract and invest in new graduate nurses as we continue to work and support our care teams and patients,” the hospital said in a statement on Thursday.

Despite the details of the proposed contract, union officials said that the hospital said that the past five months have not brought fair dealings with the hospital.

“Instead they are trying to ram a proposal down the throats of the nurses,” Illinois Nurses Association union representative John Fitzgerald told Patch in an email, “one that still has below-market wages, completely ignores the staffing crisis that we have at the hospital, and seeks the right to mandate nurses to work outside of their specialties — putting nurses’ licenses, and patients’ lives, at risk.”