After three days of picketing the nurses of Ascension St. Joseph hospital wind down their strike with a big group potluck.

The nurses at Ascension St. Joseph in Joliet will return to the negotiating table with their employer next week after wrapping up their four-day Unfair Labor Practice strike yesterday afternoon. The nurses picketed the hospital, hosted a town hall and a rally with other local unions and fed the residents of a local shelter during the first three days of the four day lock out.

The 500 nurses of Ascension St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet have been locked out of their workplace since Thursday February 8th. Nurses report that their coworkers inside the hospital are telling them they need them back. There are additional reports that unsafe understaffing has
continued through the work stoppage.

The current “Unfair Labor Practice” strike was called after the employer implemented language union nurses voted to reject due to safety concerns. The employer claimed that an impasse had been reached in negotiations though the union has communicated willingness to negotiate. Charges of unfair labor practices over the implementation have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

The nurses of Ascension Saint Joseph are hopeful that the return to negotiations next week will result in the parties coming closer together on key issues.

“At the last session, they responded to our comprehensive proposal with an offer they didn’t even put in writing which was identical to what we voted down but with pay for our bargaining team,” nurse Kaitlynd French said. “We made real movement and hope they are ready to do the same.”

Nurses were back on the job at 6:30 a.m. Monday morning and are eager to return to their patients and non-union coworkers.