National Nurses United

14 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 O n a cold, overcast Chicago day in March 2024, with snow still on the ground, a group of nurses wearing red masks marched to the Cook County Health (CCH) Board of Direc- tors meeting, chanting, "What do we want? Retro pay! When do we want it? Now!" The nurses, members of National Nurses Organ- izing Committee (NNOC), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), were in the midst of a months-long battle to get the retention retroactive pay they won in a contract extension last fall. NNOC President Michelle Gutierrez Vo, RN, marched with the nurses and spoke at the board meeting in solidarity. "It's starting to look like wage theft and union busting," said Gutierrez Vo. "We demand accountabil- ity, we demand reform, and yes, payroll needs to cut the checks for the 1,200 nurses who are owed years of retroactive wages. It is not acceptable that nurses have been wait- ing for six months for back wages." In October 2023, the union nurses had been excited to ratify a one-year contract extension, which included a 3.5 percent raise effective immediately plus a retention retroac- tive pay increase of 3.5 percent. The extension and pay increases were proposed by the county—no extensive negotiations necessary. But five months later, more than 1,200 CCH nurses still had not received their retention pay: roughly $3,000 to $6,000 per nurse, depending on their length of employment. Collectively, CCH nurses were owed millions. They included nurses who worked for John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital, Provident Hospital, clin- ics, and Cermak Health Services, which provides health care to detainees at the Cook County Department of Corrections. As the delays dragged on into 2024, nurses were increasingly fed up and fired up but they were not silent. At every monthly four-hour meeting of the Professional Prac- tice Committee (PPC) at Stroger Hospital, the nurses put the retention retroactive pay on the agenda, noted Brenda Langford, an RN, PPC member, chief nurse representa- tive at Stroger Hospital, and an NNOC board member. One hour of each PPC meet- ing is set aside to meet with nursing management. During that time, nurses raise issues affecting nursing practice and patient care and also submit written recommenda- tions to management about their concerns. The PPC had also been fighting for over a year to get CCH to implement an extra-shift bonus program to give nurses a financial incentive, in addition to overtime, to sign up for additional shifts in critically under- staffed areas. "During the holidays last year, one med-surg unit had only two nurses for 24 patients," recalled Langford. "If CCH had offered extra shift bonuses, we could have gotten staff nurses to come in." As public-sector nurses, they had addi- tional ways of getting their voices heard. PPC members and other CCH nurses spoke out about the retention pay delay and extra-shift bonuses at numerous Cook County Board of Commissioners and CCH Board of Directors meetings as well as the CCH board's finance and human resources subcommittee meet- ings. In February, the PPC began a petition about the backpay delay, collecting 700 peti- tion signatures in two weeks and delivering the document to the Feb. 15 CCH human resources subcommittee meeting. Tina Montanez, an RN at Stroger Hospital and PPC member, spoke out at various CCH director and subcommittee meetings, includ- ing the one in February. "We are urging this committee to listen to us," said Montanez. "We know our worth. We matter. And we deserve dignity and respect and to be compensated fairly and in a timely manner for the demanding work we provide every day. "We request you use your authority and demand Cook County pay us nurses the retroactive pay we deserve and have been waiting for since October 2023. We present to you today 700 signatures from nurses throughout the Cook County system demanding our back pay now." Langford submitted written testimony for the February CCH meeting, writing about the delays in retroactive pay and advocating for Fourth in a series Never giving up Cook County nurses fight to win back pay and bonuses By Chuleenan Svetvilas LEFT: Brenda Langford, RN, PPC member at Stroger Hospital; RIGHT: Tina Montanez, RN and PPC member at Stroger Hospital, speaking at CCH subcommittee meeting in February.

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