Employees of Sterling, Ill.-based CGH Medical Center ratified their first union contract July 13-15 after five years of negotiations with hospital management, according to a release from AFSCME Council 31.
Workers first organized their union in 2019 and received certification from the Illinois Labor Relations Board in 2021, according to a news release from AFSCME Council 31. An ILRB administrative law judge twice found CGH violated state labor law during negotiations, including over a letter from hospital leadership that discouraged employees from union membership, Shaw Local reported. A tentative agreement was reached June 29, Shaw Local reported.
The three-year contract includes wage increases of at least 9.75%, two additional paid days off per year, no increase in health insurance premiums in 2026 and limits on the use of temporary out-of-town workers when regular staff are available, according to the release.
“Despite going up against an employer that was hostile to their union from the very start, CGH workers never wavered,” AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said in the release.
AFSCME represents workers at CGH’s 98-bed main medical center and its network of nearly 20 satellite clinics.
Becker’s has reached out to CGH Medical Center for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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