Workers Strike South Side Hospital

By Kevin Robinson in News on Oct 10, 2007 3:00PM

Members of SEIU Local 20 held a one-day strike Monday at Roseland Community Hospital.

Most hospital workers strike over staffing levels and quality of care issues, but this strike was purely economic. "People aren't lined up to work at Roseland. And we think by the hospital adjusting the pay rate so that it's comparable to other South Side hospitals, that speaks to better recruitment, better retention and ultimately better patient care," Local 20 President Byron Hobbes told Chicago Public Radio. "We have grown men and women raising children making $7.50 an hour. We have people with 20 to 30 years of experience making $10.35 an hour," Andrew Phillips, a storeroom manager at Roseland and union member told Medill Reports.

For a union with a reputation for devastating entire hospital systems with long-term strikes, Monday's work stoppage was pretty tame. Local 20 members went back to work Tuesday, still without an agreement. They are considering federal mediation or arbitration to settle this contract.