Hospital Custodians Return to Work After 18-Day Strike

About 2,500 Cook County, Illinois workers, including hospital environmental services (EVS) and maintenance staff, returned to work yesterday after union officials and the county reached a tentative contract agreement, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The 18-day work stoppage was the longest for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 and also the longest public sector strike in Chicago’s recent history.

The pending contract agreement does not include provisions for raising wage limits for the lowest-paid workers or changing annual pay raise steps based on seniority. Those issues will be discussed in arbitration by a neutral party panel.

However, the union and county did come to agreement on other areas of pay including hazard pay, which includes temporary bonuses for frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic. The four-year contract includes an 8.5% raise over the duration of the contract. Seniority will also become a key factor in hiring and promotions.

SEIU Local 73 representatives had been negotiating a new contract for about 10 months when the strike began on June 25.

“Cook County workers showed real bravery by going out on strike to demand respect from the county. This contract has real wins for workers that they should be proud of as it turns the page on decades of Local 73 members being considered second-class citizens at the county,” said Dian Palmer, SEIU Local 73 president. “These are the essential, frontline workers that kept our county running during the worst pandemic of our lifetime who stood up for themselves, their families, and the communities they serve, during this strike to demand better.”