Nurses at St. Mary Hospital in Chicago go on one-day strike

Standing in the middle of the picket line early Thursday outside St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital, Jesus Hernandez felt as if the one-day strike was already a success just an hour after it started.

Hernandez was among six nurses who were fired in recent weeks just as nurses in the Ukrainian Village hospital prepared to hold an election to unionize with the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United. In a sea of blue and red, Hernandez saw nurses he didn’t know well who joined the picket line to support them.

“I am not scared, I’m not backing down,” Hernandez said. “I’m still here in the fight because what we’re doing here is important, because companies don’t care about patients, they don’t care about staff. We care about patients because we deal with them day in and day out.”

Motorists along Division Street honked at the lively crowd that included about 200 nurses holding signs saying, “You can’t fire solidarity,” and, “On strike for my patients.” Security guards stood outside the hospital’s main entrance and parking lots, but the strike continued without incident. It is expected to end at 7 a.m. on Friday.

The strike comes less than a week before about 400 St. Mary’s nurses plan to vote on June 17 on forming a union. During the rally, union representatives and nurses called on the hospital to reinstate the six terminated nurses. Prime Healthcare, a large national for-profit hospital network, acquired St. Mary’s and several other Chicago-area hospitals last year.

“We’re done with Prime cutting positions, like admissions nursing, who help our patients get settled and give us time to take care of all our patients,” said nurse Daisey Moreno. “Prime is more focused on cutting staff and firing nurses than taking care of our patients. … It’s time to reinstate our co-workers and get ready to bargain.”

It’s illegal for most private employers, including hospitals, to penalize workers for forming a union, according to the National Labor Relations Board, an independent federal agency that protects the right to organize.

It was the second rally this week in support of nurses unionizing at Chicago-area hospitals, part of a larger wave of labor action in health care across the country. At both rallies, nurses called for hospitals to reinstate their co-workers who were fired just as they were forming unions with separate labor groups.

A chorus of Democratic elected officials have joined the fight to support nurses across the region, from Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, to State Sen. Celina Villanueva.

St. Mary Hospital and its owner Prime would not say how many nurses worked Thursday, saying only in a statement that it was, “fully staffed as planned to meet the needs of our patients and deliver safe, high-quality care.”

“We respect the right of our employees to engage in lawful, protected, union activity, and we remain committed to ongoing, good-faith discussions with our nurses,” the hospital said.

Noemi Malave and her 17-year-daughter, Crystal Gonzales, walked past the picket line after physical therapy at the hospital. They said the hospital appeared normal except for the heightened presence of security guards. They were told to wear visitor badges, which they usually don’t have to do.

Malave, of Logan Square, said her grandmother died at the hospital and her mother was a cancer patient there. Although nurses say the hospital has changed under new management, Malave said she hasn’t noticed anything different in the quality of care in recent years.

“The nurses work very hard and many at different hours,” Malave said. “…I think they deserve whatever they’re asking for.”

But Moreno, the nurse, told the crowd during the strike rally that she noticed Prime cut corners to save money, including getting rid of a charity fund that helped patients purchase medications.

“I want every one of my patients to get everything they need to get better,” Moreno said. “My job as a nurse is to take care of them and to advocate for them, and that’s why I wanted to be part of forming our union.”

Nancy Delgado was among those who were recently fired from St. Mary after working as a nurse for seven years. The single mother worries about the savings she’s had to rely on since she lost her job, but she also wants to set an example for her daughter by speaking up.

“I want to show my daughter that our voices matter, no matter where you are, who you are,” Delgado said. “You have the right to raise your voice and to speak up the truth, especially if you work in health care.”

The escalated union action at St. Mary’s is part of a larger wave of unionization among Chicago-area nurses.

On Wednesday, dozens of people — elected officials, nurses and Teamsters representatives — rallied at Endeavor Health’s corporate headquarters in Evanston to support nearly 3,000 nurses who work at four of Endeavor’s hospitals in the suburbs and are trying to unionize with the Teamsters.

Endeavor is a nonprofit and one of the biggest hospital systems in the Chicago area, treating more than 1 million patients a year and employing more than 27,000 people, according to the health system. It generated about $6.4 billion in revenue in 2025, its most recent annual financial statement shows.

Endeavor nurses implored their hospitals to respect the nurses’ right to unionize, to stop surveilling and intimidating them, and to reinstate two nurses at Endeavor’s Evanston Hospital who were fired, allegedly over unionizing efforts.

Nurses are organizing over pay cuts and what they say is dangerous understaffing that could harm patients.

“Nurses are working in conditions that put their license at risk, but more importantly, the lives of the people we care for are at risk,” said Stacey Oswald, a critical care nurse at Endeavor. “Management has unrealistic, penny-pinching expectations that stretch us too thin and leave our units unsafely staffed.”

She underscored how Endeavor managers have received bonuses while cutting pay for nurses amounting to thousands of dollars a year. Records show Endeavor CEO Gerald Gallagher made just over $5 million in 2024, including a $1.4 million bonus, as well as retirement and other “deferred” compensation, Endeavor’s most recent tax return shows. That same year, the health system had a $494 million operating loss, much of it from legal settlements, an audited financial statement shows.

A spokesperson with Endeavor shared a previous statement. They say they respect the nurses’ right to organize, but they must prioritize patient safety.

Elvia Malagón covers health care for the Sun-Times. Kristen Schorsch covers health care for WBEZ.