The University of Illinois has filed an injunction to stop its nurses union from striking after they failed to reach an agreement this week.
The Illinois Nurses Association had a 3-year contract with the West Side hospital system that has been extended twice. Earlier this month, the union voted to strike if they are unable to reach a agreement with the University of Illinois Hospital by midnight on Monday.
In court documents, the university argued that a strike, affecting 1,100 nurses, would cripple their operations. The loss of 320 skilled staff required for certain units, including, Adult Intensive Care, Labor and Delivery and two Neonatal Intensive Care units, among others, would be a “clear and present danger to the health or safety of the public,” the university said.
The university is preparing for the strike, according to the court documents, by contacting agencies to help it staff the hospital should the nurses walk out next week.
The nurses are asking for a 19.7 percent wage increase over three years, according to the hospital system, which it claims would cost $20 million. The nurses earned on average, $106,000 in 2013, according to the hospital system.
The University of Illinois Hospital, like other hospital systems, has faced declines in revenue as more people opt for outpatient settings, and the government and commercial insurers exert more pressure on reimbursements. The system reported $809.9 million in revenue in fiscal 2014, down from $814.7 million the year before.
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Neither the University of Illinois Hospital nor the union could immediately be reached for comment.