Nurses at Endeavor Health Edward Hospital in Naperville vote to unionize

Nurses at Endeavor Health Edward Hospital in Naperville have voted to unionize.

Sixty-five percent of the ballots cast were in favor of the hospital’s 1,200 nurses being represented by the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United, according to results announced Friday.

“We’re really happy about this win,” Edward Hospital nurse Hana Choi said. “We’re in a very good position to advocate for our patients in the community. This is a huge win for nurses all around, nursing as a profession, and we’re really excited to get started and be at the bargaining table.”

The National Labor Relations Board is required to certify the election. Once that happens, Edward nurses will form their bargaining committee.

In a statement released Friday, Endeavor Health said that while it had hoped to “maintain a direct working relationship” with the nurses, it will respect the decision pending the finalization of the results.

“While this election outcome represents a transition in how we work and communicate with our nurses, our commitment to high-quality patient care and mutual respect remains constant and our focus is on moving forward together as one dedicated nursing team to achieve nursing excellence in service to our patients and communities,” Endeavor Health said in its release.

Choi said the nurses at Edward unionized to fight for better retention levels, compensation and safer patient-to-nurse staffing ratios.

“There have been some pay cuts, unhappy nurses and unsafe staffing ratios, more demand,” she said. “They’ve been stretching us thin to the point of burnout.”

Nurses at Endeavor hospitals in Glenview, Skokie, Evanston and Highland Park have also filed a petition to unionize, seeking National Labor Relations Board approval to hold an election to be represented by Teamsters Local 743.

Edward’s nurse unionization vote comes as Endeavor Health has announced plans to merge with Rush University System for Health, which could happen in 2027 pending regulatory approval. The combined system would include 12 hospitals, more than 46,000 employees and more than 400 care sites.

Choi said the union will be useful in helping nurses navigate the new system and ensure continued quality patient care.

“With any merge, consolidation, it affects our patients and what often happens are there are service cuts, there’s price increases,” she said. “This is why we unionize, so that we can help in that decision-making process to make sure that our patients (are) getting the care that they need no matter what happens.”

Nurse unionization efforts have taken place recently at other Chicago-area hospitals as well.

Over the past year, nurses at Olympia Fields Hospital, Rush University Medical Center and St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital have also unionized with the National Nurses Organizing Committee, which now represents more than 10,000 nurses in the Chicago area.

cstein@chicagotribune.com