Registered nurses at Endeavor Health Edward Hospital in Naperville, Ill., voted to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee.
Six things to know:
1. The polls closed Nov. 5 and the votes were counted the next day, according to a news release from the National Nurses United affiliate.
2. Representation won the election with 65% of the vote, according to the union. The new bargaining unit includes more than 1,200 nurses at Edward Hospital. With the vote, the union said it now represents more than 10,000 nurses in the Chicago area.
3. Nurses who backed the union said they hope to bargain a first contract that addresses staffing.
“We look forward to bargaining our first union contract that protects our patients and nurses so we can give them the care they deserve,” Aneysha Becka, RN, a nurse in the neonatal ICU, said in the release. “We want safe staffing at all times.”
4. A spokesperson for Evanston, Ill.-based Endeavor Health said in a Nov. 6 statement shared with Becker’s that the system respects the nurses’ decision and the election process, pending finalization of the results.
“While this election outcome represents a transition in how we work and communicate with our nurses, our commitment to high-quality patient care and mutual respect remains constant and our focus is on moving forward together as one dedicated nursing team to achieve nursing excellence in service to our patients and communities,” the spokesperson said.
5. The vote comes as Endeavor Health and Chicago-based Rush University System for Health pursue a proposed merger. If the merger receives regulatory approval, the combined system would include 12 hospitals and more than 46,000 employees. Nurses at Rush University Medical Center voted to join the union in May.
6. Meanwhile, nurses at four other Endeavor Health hospitals filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board Oct. 22 seeking an election to be represented by Teamsters Local 743.
