Greetings!

Today we wrapped up our 10^th bargaining session with the NNU and have moved to the next phase of negotiations focusing on economics. The union presented its initial economic proposal covering a number of areas, including wages, differentials, on-call bonuses, comp time, changes to vacation and sick time, credit for experience, and Patient Care Support Nurses.

In addition to economics, each side passed counterproposals and had productive discussions related to a number of topics, including:

UCMC:

• Section 17.12 Preceptor Duty – adding daily preceptor pay for salaried nurses
• Section 6.5 Preparation of Schedule – adding additional weeks to the annual vacation bid for more tenured nurses earning additional time

NNU:

• New Side Letter – L&D Scrub RN Team
• New Side Letter – S.A.N.E. Team
• Section 6.5 Preparation of Schedule

We also reached tentative agreements on the following proposals:

• Section 6.7 Vacation Pay – added language related to donation of vacation time to other employees enduring a hardship
• Section 11.2 Death in Family – added language related to granting bereavement or other paid time off for non-immediate family members or domestic partners
• Side Letter – Completion of Late Stays – both sides agree that if a pattern of late-stays is identified in any area that a discussion on additional regular staff can occur at NPPCC

As we move into December and the holiday season, it’s a perfect time to reflect and be proud to work at an organization that cares for some of the most vulnerable patients in our region’s medically underserved area. And to fulfill our mission to Elevate the Human Experience through patient care, community service, teaching, and research, there is a need to attract and retain top-tier talent through competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package.

Our team will thoroughly review and work on a response to the union’s economics proposal, along with a few outstanding non-economic proposals. Negotiations inherently involve a lot of back and forth and eventually give and take from both sides throughout this journey. UCMC values the contributions of all nurses, from new grads to our most tenured, and we are committed to reaching an agreement that meets the needs of our nurses, our growing institution, the community, and the patients who rely on us.

We return to the table for our next session on Monday, December 4^th, the first of four scheduled bargaining dates in December. In the meantime, we will continue to provide updates and I encourage you to check out www.ucmcnurses.org for more details.

I hope everyone has a good evening!

Sarah L. Kundrat MSN, RN, NEA-BC
Executive Director, Ambulatory Nursing
Associate Chief Ambulatory Nursing Officer
UChicago Medicine

Good evening, all,

Today we held our 9th bargaining session with NNU. Our updates are as follows:

UCMC:

* Section 5.8: Close to reaching a Tentative Agreement regarding OR Holiday Rotation

* Section 6.5: Discussion continued regarding the Annual Vacation Bid process

* Section 11.2: Made progress on Bereavement Leave

NNU:

* The Union passed several counterproposals and have other UCMC offers under review to include SANE, Preceptor Duty & On-Call

We know you’re incredibly invested in this process and, likewise, our bargaining team is committed to sharing information with you and answering your questions. In fact, we had about 600 members of our UCM nursing community attend our town halls over the past week, which were entirely devoted to bargaining updates. During those meetings, Emily, I, and the rest of the bargaining team responded to more than 150 of your questions.

One town hall topic that drew many questions was available parking options. I want to make sure you have information about the expanded, FREE parking that’s currently available in the Apostolic lot without a waiting list. This lot, which will have extended security hours beginning this Friday, is serviced by a University shuttle that runs every 10-15 minutes.

Access to Apostolic does require parking registration, but doing so gives you access to FREE overnight and weekend parking in Garages A & B (Monday – Friday from 5 P.M. – 8 A.M. and all day on weekends and holidays). Information on parking locations and registration is available on the intranet. A recording of yesterday’s town hall will be posted on the intranet by the end of day tomorrow. Be sure to tune in if you were unable to attend.

We have agreed to 3 additional bargaining dates on December 11th, 19th & 20th. I know I speak for the whole bargaining team when I say we’re looking forward to continuing these important conversations and good-faith bargaining as we work to expeditiously reach an agreement. Thank you for your interest in this process. Please make sure you check out www.ucmcnurses.org as well, which we’ll continue to update with additional information in the coming days.

Thanks,

ALESIA A. COE, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, She/her/hers
Vice President,
Associate Chief Nursing Officer,
Adult Inpatient Hospitals & Emergency Services

We wanted to provide an update on progress made during the past two months of contract negotiations with National Nurses United, the labor union representing about 2,900 University of Chicago Medical Center nurses.

Negotiating teams have had eight face-to-face sessions since the collective bargaining process began Sept. 14, and NNU’s current contract is set to expire Nov. 25. There are three more sessions scheduled after Thanksgiving and into early December. We anticipate more dates being scheduled soon.

Bargaining teams have presented dozens of proposals and reached tentative agreements on seven non-economic areas. There’s also been important conversations on key topics such as workplace violence and safety, nurse education, staffing, preceptor work, and scheduling.

Both sides have been working collaboratively and respectfully for a fair and equitable contract that meets the needs of nurses, our growing institution, and the community and our patients who rely on us for care. While there’s certainly more work to come, we’re gratified to see the thoughtfulness, candor, and progress that’s been displayed throughout these sessions.

Crafting a contract is a long process that inevitably involves give and take. This is complex work that will continue after the contract expires.

Like we have throughout this whole process, UCMC remains committed to transparency, collaboration, and good-faith dialogue. If you’d like to learn more about bargaining, watch this video from Chief Nursing Officer Emily Chase or visit our dedicated bargaining site — www.ucmcnurses.org — which will be updated regularly.

We are optimistic the past two months of positive momentum will continue and we’ll reach a fair and equitable agreement that allows us to continue to attract exceptional nurses who meaningfully contribute to our institution and its reputation for excellence.

Sincerely,

Emily Chase, PhD, RN, NE-BC
Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer

Krista Curell, JD, RN
Executive Vice President and Health System Chief Operating Officer

Dear Nursing Team Members:

It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is almost here and our hardworking bargaining teams have been meeting at the table for roughly two months now. I’ve been so impressed by the thoughtfulness, respectfulness, candor, and collaboration we’ve seen throughout this negotiation. While there’s certainly more work to do, I’m particularly proud of the progress made so far. Both sides are working together and building a strong foundation for a fair and equitable contract that meets the needs of nurses, our growing institution, and the patients who rely on us for care.

However, since the current NNU contract is expiring Nov. 25, I wanted to share a short video that provides everyone with an update on what’s happened so far, what to expect in the days ahead, and how you and your colleagues can stay informed and follow along as we continue to move forward.

Crafting a contract is a long process with lots of back and forth. There inevitably will be give and take on both sides — work that absolutely will continue even after a contract expires.

Our teams have had eight face-to-face sessions since the collective bargaining process began Sept. 14. We have three more sessions scheduled after Thanksgiving and into early December, and more dates will be scheduled soon. Both sides have presented dozens of proposals and reached tentative agreements on seven non-economic areas. There’s also been important conversations on key topics like workplace violence and safety, tuition reimbursement, staffing, preceptor work, scheduling, and on-call duty.

Like we have throughout this whole process, the University of Chicago Medical Center is committed to transparency, collaboration, and good-faith dialogue. The UCMC bargaining team will continue to provide updates after each session, and I’ll keep sharing regular messages with you and holding town halls where you can ask questions. In addition, we’ve launched www.ucmcnurses.org, which we’ll use to share information about the bargaining process and the important role our nursing team plays in our health system and medical center.

Speaking of town halls, I want to remind you to attend the upcoming sessions. You should all have calendar invitations for these Zoom webinars, which will be held:

• November 20 at 12 p.m. 
• November 21 at 8 a.m. 
• November 27 at 4 p.m. 

I’m optimistic the positive momentum will continue and we’ll reach a fair and equitable agreement that allows us to continue to attract exceptional nurses who meaningfully contribute to our institution and its reputation for excellence.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families. And thanks to each one of you.

Emily

https://players.brightcove.net/719220616001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6341197843112

Good Evening!

We just wrapped up our 8th Bargaining session and here is a summary of UCMC and NNU discussion from today’s session:

UCMC

• Section 2.5 Orientation: agreed to providing the Union more time for orientation and have a Tentative Agreement (TA).
• Section 5.8 Holiday Rotation: provided further clarification regarding CD Operating Room.
• Section 12.3 On-call: Included pay for activation even if not put to work/canceled enroute, added transplant cases, added order of team assignments and agreed to instruct applicants of the call requirements and scheduling during interviews.
• Section 13.2 Workplace Violence Prevention: continuing to positively discuss with the NNU.
• Section 17.12 Preceptor Duty: added inclusion of precepting of students, externs and others in non-nursing roles, including salaried nurses.
• SANE Nurse Side Letter for Adult & Pediatric EDs on all shifts to meet State requirements.

NNU

• The Union passed counterproposals on several proposals we previously discussed and reiterated their position on several others. There continues to be review and discussion.

Please plan to join our upcoming Nursing Town Halls on November 20th at 12 p.m., 21st at 8 a.m. and 27th at 4 p.m. where the topic will be Bargaining Updates with open Q&A.

Also, I’m happy to share that we’ve launched www.ucmcnurses.org. A new website that will give you and your colleagues important information about both our bargaining process and the important work nurses do at UCMC.

You’ll see additional material being added to that site in the coming days, including current and past bargaining updates. We encourage you check it regularly.

You can also reference the latest Bargaining Updates on the UCM Intranet here: https://home.uchicagomedicine.org/SitePages/Bargaining.aspx

As this is the last scheduled Bargaining session prior to the holiday next week, I’d like to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and THANK YOU for all you do. Our next Bargaining dates are November 28th and 30th.

Sally Walton, DNP, MBA, RN, OCN, NEA-BC, FACHE,
Associate Chief Nursing Officer
Executive Director, Patient Care Services

It’s hard to believe it’s already November, Daylight Savings Time has ended, and today we finished our 7th bargaining session. We continue to make steady, forward progress.

I wanted to take time in today’s communication to summarize the tentative agreements we have reached to date.

• Dues Deductions
• Vacation Accrual
• Medical Examination
• Leave of Absence
• Credit for Experience
• Posting of Notices

In addition, we made progress on several proposals, including Workplace Violence and the Labor and Delivery Scrub Nurse proposals.

We shared with the NNU that the Medical Center is vacating a conference room on the first floor of CCD East, allowing the NNU to return to a conference space that is easily accessible for our staff.

We proposed additional compensation for our salaried nurses who precept. We recognize the training these nurses provide is essential and we have proposed an extra service payment for salaried nurses after a nurse completes their orientation.

Today, we responded with our initial proposals and responses addressing staffing. This includes our initial proposal to move an additional seven units to a staffing model where the charge nurse does not have a patient assignment. We know that continued progress on our unassigned charge structure is important to you; it’s also important to us. Emily, myself, and the other ACNO’s felt it was essential to put this proposal on the table to demonstrate our commitment to this type of staffing model and to recognize the vital work our charge nurses do. We are committed to continued discussions on this topic as we continue through the bargaining process.

We are proud that our staffing guidelines (the number of nursing hours we dedicate to patient care on any given day) are among the best in the state of Illinois. We also recognize that we need to continue to work together to close these staffing gaps through continued hiring and retention efforts. Progress on these initiatives is a shared responsibility for all of us, and we are committed to continuing these discussions on making meaningful improvements in nurse staffing at UCMC.

I continue to be impressed with the collaboration at the table, the work our bargaining team nurses are committing to developing meaningful proposals, and the progress we continue to make.

Jeff Murphy, DNP, RN, CEN, NEA-BC,
Associate Chief Nursing Officer
Vice President, Comer Children’s Hospital

Today I was invited to the bargaining table to hear testimony from our UCMC nurses on staffing and safety at the medical center. I was so impressed by the preparation, candor and professionalism of the nurses who took the time to present today. Specifically, I would like to thank the following nurses:

• Brandi McNally and Jason Smith: Adult ED
• Drew Castenson: 3SW
• Emily Radziejeski, Megan Moriarity and Marie LaFontant: Burn ICU
• Kim Neven: Med-Surg Supplemental Float Pool
• Geraldine Paclibar and Michael Wendorf: 4 West
• Hannah Dy, Lauren Hitzeman, Joanna Mai, Colleen Caulfield, Jake Robertson: CCD OR
• Dominque Diaz, Kathy Llanes, Anne Finnelly: Cardiac Cath Lab
• Sybil Caruthers: Ambulatory Nursing, Primary Care Group
• Kathryn Dvorak: Transplant
• Lisa Sampson and Anna Lendabarker: Perinatal Services
• Amber Turi, Lorena Vega, Andrea Perez and Erica Frias: MICU
• Brigitt Manson, Comer 5
• Lea Sargent King: 4SE (reading for Megan Henry: 4NE)

Following the testimony, I was able to return to the table with the UCMC Bargaining Team to hear the NNU’s proposals related to nurse staffing. The NNU passed proposals on unassigned charge duties, float rules, developing an OR RN Scrub team for L&D and building the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program, among others. We had a good discussion about many of these proposals and key points.

Additionally, earlier today, we passed a proposal to the NNU to eliminate the two-year waiting period for nursing tuition reimbursement by moving to a network of 12 schools. We know that the two-year waiting period has been a concern brought forward by some of our newer staff members. UCMC also passed a proposal that would allow nurses to remain on-board in an IHR (in-house registry) status while receiving 100% tuition reimbursement to attend school to become a CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist), in return for two years of full-time employment at UCMC as a CRNA after graduation. Building our own CRNA pipeline for the future will be a key to our successful growth in perioperative and procedural services. Our organization consistently pays over $1 million every year toward tuition for our nurses to grow professionally, and we are committed to see that trend grow and continue in the years to come.

Our next bargaining session is next Tuesday, November 7th. The team will take time to review all of the NNU’s proposals from today in depth so that we are ready to respond when we meet again next week.

Emily Chase, PhD, RN, NE-BC, FACHE,
Chief Nursing Officer,
Senior Vice-President, Patient Care Services

Dear Nursing Team Members,

Today we held our fifth collective bargaining session with the Union that represents our nurses (NNU). The UCMC team shared counterproposals on Orientation Procedure for New Employees, Workplace Violence Prevention and Leaves of Absence.

The NNU passed proposals and/or counterproposals on Preparation of Schedule, Absences Due to Workplace Injury, Bereavement and Credit for Experience.

We have confirmed several additional dates in late October through early December bargaining sessions. We continue to work in good faith toward providing transparency and achieving a fair and equitable contract with NNU.

This is a diligent process that takes time, and we are looking forward to our next contract negotiation session is scheduled on October 30th, 2023.

Please reach out to the ACNO nursing leadership team if you have any questions about bargaining.

Thank you,

Renee Pucik-Maisura MSN, RN,
Associate Chief Nursing Officer,
Executive Director, Perioperative & Procedural Services

Dear Nursing Team Members,

Today we wrapped up our 4th collective bargaining session with the Union that represents our nurses (NNU) and UCMC.

During this bargaining session, UCMC shared responses and/or counterproposals to several NNU proposals from October 3rd, 2023, and earlier today including bereavement leave, credit for experience, parking, holiday rotations and the annual vacation bid process.

The Union passed counterproposals on holiday rotation, orientation for new employees, and leaves of absence for charity work, and held their position on the other proposals. The NNU passed several new proposals on recognition, accrued vacation time, annual vacation bid, vacation payout for resignation and discharge of employees, an amendment to the newly represented nurse’s seniority side letter, additional language related to infectious disease program section, and discipline. The UCMC team will spend time this evening, and the rest of this week, reviewing these proposals in preparation for our next bargaining session.

I am thrilled to report that we reached a verbal Tentative Agreement on Medical Examination language to include all licensed independent healthcare providers and are much closer related to leaves of absence for charity work.

Remember that bargaining is a process of give and take and while it may seem slow at times, we continue to make good progress and bargain in good faith on both sides of the table – all of us working together towards a fair and equitable contract for our nurses. We are looking forward to our next negotiation session scheduled this Tuesday, October 24th, 2023.

I hope you all have a good evening.

Sarah Kundrat, MSN, RN, NEA-BC,
Assistant Chief Nursing Officer,
Executive Director, Ambulatory Nursing

Hello Nursing Team Members,

The third collective bargaining session with NNU and UCMC was held today. The UCMC team made a new proposal regarding scheduling under Float/Supplemental Team. UCMC also passed counterproposals regarding Bereavement, Credit for Experience and Posting on Bulletin Boards.

NNU made new proposals regarding Non-Nursing Duties, Termination of Employment, Parking and Pay Check Shortages. They also passed counter proposals regarding Bereavement, Transfers and Credit for Experience.

Both sides will review the proposals in preparation for our next bargaining session. We will continue to move forward in good faith toward achieving an equitable and fair contract. We look forward to session four on October 19, 2023.

Alesia A. Coe, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE,
Associate Chief Nursing Officer,
Vice President for Adult Inpatient Hospitals.

Dear Nursing Team Members,

Today we held our second collective bargaining session with the Union that represents our nurses (NNU) and UCMC.

During this bargaining session, UCMC shared responses and/or counterproposals to the NNU proposals from September 14, 2023, related to Union dues, NNU Representatives’ access to UCMC, Orientation, Leaves of Absence, Credit for Experience, Medical Examination, Resignation Notice, Death in the Family, Meeting Facilities, Posting of Notices and Transfers.

Our UCMC team made a proposal under Holiday Rotation and Christmas Eve/New Year’s Eve related to holiday shifts in perioperative & procedural areas to avoid undue burden on nurses.

I am happy to report that we reached verbal Tentative Agreements on Medical Examination and Union dues. The Union passed counterproposals on Leaves of Absence and Posting of Notices and held their position on the other proposals. The NNU passed a proposal on Workplace Violence Prevention and the UCMC team will spend time this evening, and into the coming week, reviewing this proposal.

Both sides appreciated the movement and sought clarity on each other’s responses/counterproposals. We all continue to work in good faith toward achieving a fair and equitable contract and we are looking forward to our next negotiation session schedule for October 3rd, 2023.

Sally Walton, DNP, MBA, RN, OCN, NEA-BC, FACHE,
Associate Chief Nursing Officer,
Executive Director, Patient Care Services

Dear Nursing Team Members,

Today we held our first collective bargaining session with the union that represents our nurses (NNU) and UCMC.

During this initial bargaining session, we took some time to get to know each other. Our nurses shared some truly inspiring stories about their journey to UCMC, their accomplishments, and their goals for our new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Our nursing leaders also shared with the team who they are and what has led them to their role as an Associate Chief Nursing Officer (ACNO) at UCMC.

The NNU shared several proposals that addressed union dues, NNU Representatives’ access to UCMC, meeting facilities scheduling, proposals around the transfer of nurses to different units, and feedback to nurses who are not selected for internal transfers. Our team will spend time this evening, and in the coming week, reviewing these proposals to provide counterproposals to the NNU.

As Emily shared in her communication yesterday, bargaining is a process, and at times can seem slow. The proposals that were shared today are exactly what we would expect to see at this point in the process.

Andrew Carnegie said, “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward shared objectives is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” It was clear from our discussions today, that our nurses, the NNU business agents, and UCMC are working toward a common goal – a fair and equitable contract.

Jeff Murphy, DNP, RN, CEN, NEA-BC,
Vice President Comer Children’s Hospital
Associate Chief Nursing Officer