Workers, Mount Sinai Hospital agree on a tentative contract

A threatened strike by over 400 workers at Mount Sinai Hospital was averted when marathon negotiations yielded a tentative contract early Friday morning.

Certified nursing assistants, clerical, service and maintenance workers represented by SEIU Healthcare Illinois were set to walk off their jobs Monday.

The three-year tentative agreement was reached about 3 a.m. Friday. The proposal ensures all service staff at Mount Sinai Hospital and Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital earns at least $15 an hour beginning in March 2020, lowers health care cost and addresses workers’ staffing concerns.

“Today’s victory is a significant step toward lifting up standards for workers throughout the Chicago-area hospital industry; a workforce that is disproportionately black and brown and largely female,” said Greg Kelley, president of SEIU Healthcare Illinois. The union has an ownership stake in Sun-Times Media.

Kelley credits the threat of workers walking off the job as the driver for getting a deal done. Union members held news conferences this and a “Picket Sign/Art-Making Party” in preparation of the strike.

“Our members [authorized a strike] because they understood that it was only through making serious demands and a serious threat that we were able to make the type of progress that we did here today,” Kelley said.

The union said 72% of workers covered by the agreement make less than $15 an hour.

Employees have been working without a contractsince the end of June.

Karen Teitelbaum, president and CEO of Sinai Health System, said the tentative agreement is a result of months of hard work at the negotiating table. She said the agreed contract will “lift standards” for hundreds of its employees.

“I really applaud the hard work of the negotiating team from both Sinai and SEIU to reach an agreement that allows us to collectively look forward on our mission and continue our work in improving the health of the most vulnerable communities in Chicago,” Teitelbaum said. “Taking care of our caregivers is the front door to taking care of the community.”

Workers rejoiced at the prospect of receiving higher wages.

“My job is critical to keeping the community healthy yet I was paid so little I couldn’t afford to pay my rent,” said Alice Jones, an ER unit secretary at Mount Sinai. “This new contract is a testament that when working people stand together we can win.”

“We are a Level 1 trauma center, and we deserve Level 1 pay.”

Mount Sinai is one of five Level 1 trauma centers that treat patients suffering life-threatening injuries in Chicago. The 288-bed facility has more than 45,000 patients visiting the emergency room every year.

“I’ve been working here for 24-and-a-half years and I am getting the first decent raise, ever,” said Jacqueline Walker, a housekeeper at Mount Sinai. “This has been a hard journey for me and a fight.”

Manny Ramos is a corps member of Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster Sun-Times coverage of Chicago’s South Side and West Side.