University of Chicago Medical Center nurses should continue bargaining but cancel next week's strike for the safety of their patients, the Chicago Tribune editorial board argued in a Nov. 19 editorial.
Since April, about 2,200 nurses — represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United — have been working at University of Chicago Medical Center without a contract. Pay and working conditions are points of contention, with continued negotiations scheduled for Nov. 21.
The nurses scheduled a one-day strike for Nov. 26. Nurses want one-day work stoppages, but hospital officials told the Chicago Tribune that they intend to bring in up to 900 replacement nurses who work minimum five-day contracts.
Nurses have the right to strike, but they shouldn't because it puts patients at risk, the Chicago Tribune editorial board argues. UChicago Medicine plans to operate at about 85 percent of normal operations during the strike, hospital officials said at a meeting with the editorial board. The hospital will suspend some specialized services such as those in pediatric intensive care units, and cap operating room admissions. Cancer treatments could be rescheduled, and organ transplants would be suspended.
The resulting changes are already forcing some vulnerable patients, including 50 babies and 20 children, to be transferred to other hospitals, the editorial board said.
"We know everyone involved will take the greatest care to keep the patients safe, yet moving vulnerable babies and children is risky," the editorial board wrote. "Even as outsiders it’s agonizing for us to consider the needless suffering inflicted on patients and their families … by nurses. Yes, nurses. They should continue contract talks without walking off the job."
Nurses don't want to strike but also want a fair contract, Johnny Webb, RN, a member of the union bargaining team, told the Chicago Tribune.
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