UChicago Medicine Workers Announce ULP Strike for a Fair Contract

UChicago Medicine workers have voted overwhelmingly to go on an Unfair Labor Practice Strike for a fair contract and to protest UCMC labor law violations starting Sunday, July 14, at 9:00 pm.

SEIU Local 73 represents 125 building trades and supply chain workers and has been in contract negotiations for more than six months. Workers’ wages and benefits have not kept pace with inflation. The union has also filed multiple unfair labor practice charges against UChicago Medicine for surveillance of a union activity, cancelling bargaining in retaliation for concerted activity, and failure to provide information relevant to bargaining. These unfair labor practices took place in May and June with the charges being filed the week of June 24.

“The building trades and supply chain workers at UChicago Medicine are the lifeblood of the medical center. Every day they keep these hospitals functioning and supplied for the patients and this community,” said Jeff Howard, Executive Vice President of SEIU Local 73. “These workers deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. They deserve fair wages and benefits for the work they do. Going on strike is a measure of last resort and it is unfortunate that management has chosen to push these workers into striking for what is right.”

UChicago Medicine workers are demanding:

Wage increases that keep pace with inflation
Affordable health insurance
Improved benefits

“Since the start of bargaining, we’ve made changes and compromises on our contract proposals but UCMC’s wage proposal does not match inflation rates or the cost of living,” said Charles Matthews, Operating Engineer. “In today’s economy, we are falling behind, and our jobs are not able to sustain us anymore. It’s a shame we don’t have affordable health insurance when we work for a major hospital.”

“We are being undervalued. We’re being treated like we don’t matter,” said Demond Moore, Supply Chain Material Specialist. “This hospital makes a lot of money and we keep the doors open. We deliver the supplies that keep this hospital running. We need to be treated with respect and deserve a fair contract!”

“We keep UChicago Med properly running and we deserve affordable health insurance for ourselves and our families,” said Justin Babitsch, Painter. “Management’s final proposal amounts to a pay cut for us. The meager raises they offered are negated by the cost of our health care coverage. For any hospital to treat its workers this way is deplorable.”

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