Nurses Strike Ends at St. Joe’s Hospital
We salute the brave and caring nurses of St. Joe’s and the Illinois Nurses Association.
After a two week labor strike, more than 700 nurses at the hospital will soon be returning to work after approving a new contract Monday night. The nurses at Amita St. Joseph Hospital have been on strike since July 4. This includes some of the most dedicated and fearless nurses around. Woodruff Johnson & Evans’ partner Dexter J. Evans is the husband of one of those nurses, Lauren.
“A nurse’s job has never been easy. They are put into some of the most dangerous and risky situations. This has been even more evident during the global pandemic where nurses have risked their health and lives selflessly, often without adequate personal protective equipment. This is not something new. They do this each and every day,” offered partner Dexter Evans. “I am glad the hospital was finally willing to negotiate. I am proud of my wife and her sisters and brothers of the Illinois Nurses Association who stood together for this cause. They are all heroes.”
The Illinois Nurses Association union sought better staffing to protect both the lives and health of nurses as well as the patients they pledged to care for. The former nurse to patient ratio compromised the nurses ability to provide adequate care for their patients.
Woodruff Johnson & Evans has had a close working relationship with organized labor since the firm’s inception over 20 years ago. We have represented union workers injured at work from almost every type of employer and every Illinois union. Woodruff Johnson & Evans stands in solidarity with the nurses at St. Joe’s and the Illinois Nurses Association. The right to organize and collectively bargain is fundamental to every worker.