September 9, 2020 – The University of Illinois Board of Trustees filed a lawsuit seeking to stop nurses at the University of Illinois Hospital from going on strike this weekend, claiming a work stoppage would pose a danger to the public, according to The Boston Sun Times.
Earlier this month, nurses at the hospital announced they will begin a seven-day strike at 7 a.m. Saturday after contract negotiations broke down between nurses and the hospital over the number of patients under the care of each nurse.
The nurses association decried the suit, saying that the university “created the context for the strike” by “engaging in delay tactics throughout negotiations.”
“If UIH is serious about nurses being irreplaceable, it should drop the lawsuit and return to the negotiating table and bargain in good faith,” INA spokesperson Chris Martin said in a statement.
According to the suit, 12 of the hospital’s units provide unique and critical services to patients. The units include the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, The Center for Women’s Health, hematology oncology clinic and labor and delivery unit.