A union election scheduled for Sept. 17 at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, Ill., has been suspended, the hospital confirmed to Becker’s. No new date has been set.
The National Labor Relations Board’s Region 13 office in Chicago issued an order Sept. 14 in the case, which is listed on the agency’s docket as blocked. Registered nurses at the hospital petitioned for the election Aug. 24, and the unit covers about 275 nurses. Becker’s reached out to the NLRB and will update this story if more information becomes available.
In a Sept. 14 news release, the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United, alleged Prime Healthcare retaliated against nurses who supported organizing, including through discipline, surveillance and the elimination of per diem positions. The union filed charges Sept. 8 and is seeking injunctive relief.
“We strongly dispute the allegations made by the union in seeking to suspend the election,” a hospital spokesperson said in a statement to Becker’s. “Many Saint Francis nurses have openly expressed their desire to remain non-union, and their voices and rights deserve the same respect and protection as those of nurses who support union representation. Suspending the election denies nurses the opportunity to make that choice for themselves through a fair vote.”
The spokesperson said the hospital respects the right of nurses to engage in legally protected activity and to decide individually on union representation, and that it remains committed to working with nurses and addressing concerns.
Saint Francis, a member of the nonprofit Prime Healthcare Foundation, is one of eight Illinois hospitals Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare acquired from Ascension in 2025. Nurses at four Prime hospitals across three states held one-day strikes Sept. 3.
