Tentative Contract Agreement

Dear Nursing Colleagues:

I’m so incredibly happy to report that the University of Chicago Medical Center and National Nurses United have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract. This avoids a strike that had been set to begin next week.

UCMC and NNU have been bargaining for six months, meeting more than two dozen times to come to a new collective bargaining agreement that balances your personal and professional needs with our institution’s commitments to patients and our community. Today’s tentative contract does exactly that.

The tentative contract is not yet final and still must be ratified by NNU’s members.

I’d like to thank UCMC’s bargaining team:

Alesia Coe, ACNO, VP of Adult Inpatient and Emergency Services
Sarah Kundrat, ACNO, Executive Director of Ambulatory Nursing
Jeff Murphy, ACNO, VP of Women’s and Children’s Services
Renee Pucik-Maisura, ACNO, Executive Director of Perioperative and Procedural Services
Sally Walton, ACNO, Executive Director of Patient Care Services

They brought their collective expertise to this difficult process, and they were able to bring ideas to the table that helped to meet the needs of our nurses going forward.

I also want to personally thank the union’s bargaining team for their tireless advocacy and being able to speak passionately on behalf of their peers across the Medical Center:

Stephanie Gamboa, Dermatology Clinic
Stephanie Graham, 4 West
LaMonica Jones, PCSN, Family Birth Center
Marie Lafontant, Burn ICU
Brigitt Manson, Comer 5
Scott Mechanic, Emergency Department
Allison Messer, NICU
Elaine Mister, Case Management
Lea Sargent King, 4SE Mitchell
Amber Turi, MICU
Pamela Valentine, PACU
Johnny Webb, Procedural Float Team

They were able to bring forward new ways of thinking about how we activate the profession of nursing with our organization.

Since the last NNU contract was ratified four years ago, our nursing community has experienced incredible highs and incredible lows. Through it all, we’ve grown together. This organization is home to the brightest minds in nursing. I hope the next four years bring us to even greater heights as a team.

Looking forward to what is ahead,

Emily