Nurses Vote To Authorize Strike At UIC Medical Center
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The nurses' union at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center has rejected the hospital's last and final contract offer, and has voted to authorize a strike.
As WBBM Newsradio's Brandis Friedman reports, an attorney for the Illinois Nurses Association says members were unsatisfied with overtime, incentive pay, and grievance benefits in the contract offer from the medical center.
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Attorney Alice Johnson says this means the union will have to return to the bargaining table with the medical center after voting down the contract offer 569-29.
"We now go back with this very strong message from the membership," Johnson said. "They've spoken with one voice that they don't want to go backwards."
The vote authorizes a strike, but that does not necessarily mean there will be a strike. But the union committee is now authorized to call a strike if it sees fit.
The current contract has been extended until Jan. 4.
