Nurses at Endeavor Health’s north suburban hospitals filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday to hold a union election – a move that could lead to the unionization of more than 2,400 nurses.
If the election is successful, nurses at Endeavor’s hospitals in Evanston, Highland Park, Skokie and Glenview would be represented by Teamsters Local 743. The filing comes the same month that Endeavor announced that it hopes to merge with Rush University System for Health by early 2027.
Endeavor nurses have been working over the past year to unionize with Teamsters Local 743 because of staffing levels, pay cuts, safety in the workplace and to have a voice in working conditions and patient care, said David Bernt, organizing director of Teamsters Joint Council 25, which represents workers across Illinois and Northwest Indiana.Endeavor said in a statement Thursday that it “respects the federally-protected rights of our nurses to make an informed choice about union representation.”
“We also recognize the challenges in providing safe, seamless patient care when a union acts as the intermediary between our nurses and the hospital leadership,” Endeavor said. “… The exceptional care that we deliver to our communities has been the result of our ability to work together to navigate the complex challenges of our industry, and we continue to believe that direct conversations between our nurses and leadership are the best way to do so.”
But Tricia Poreda, a critical care resource nurse at Endeavor, said at a news conference Friday morning that there is no third party getting between Endeavor and its nurses “because we are the union” — a statement that drew cheers from the crowd.She was one of hundreds of people, including nurses, politicians and union supporters, who gathered in front of the Endeavor Health corporate center in Evanston on Friday morning for the news conference.
Nurses clad in blue and yellow shirts that read “Teamsters Nurses for Nurses” chanted and rang bells to celebrate their move toward unionizing. A black Teamsters semitruck parked directly in front of the Endeavor office.
Nurse Lori Ford said she’s worked at Endeavor’s north suburban hospitals for 40 years, and she’s seen a deterioration in recent years.
“Since Endeavor took over the focus has palpably shifted from healthcare to the business of healthcare, essentially putting profits over patients,” Ford said.
She said in addition to being a longtime employee of the system, her husband has also long been a patient there, and they’ve gotten their health insurance through her employment. For next year, however, she said Endeavor plans to implement a $2,400 surcharge for employees to put their spouses on their health insurance plans.
“Although we are a dual income household we’re struggling to decide which option is more feasible, him starting as a new patient in a new healthcare system or us incurring this additional expense on top of all the other increased costs we’re facing in this economy,” Ford said.
Endeavor Nurse Stacey Oswald said she’s seen patient care decline in the three years since she started working at Endeavor. Oswald is an intensive care unit nurse who floats between the four hospitals depending on where she’s needed on any given day, she said.
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ICU nurses should typically have one or two patients at a time, she said. But she said there have been “numerous days” when multiple ICU nurses had three patients each, and Endeavor was scrambling to get nurses to pick up more hours.
“We had these unsafe ratios and it directly affects the patients and us as nurses,” Oswald told the Tribune in an interview Thursday.
Nurses say they are also dismayed by pay cuts last year. Nurse John Ter Louw, at Endeavor Health Glenbrook Hospital, said he saw his pay slashed by $8 an hour last year.
Endeavor previously said in a statement it “increased pay opportunity for our nursing team members twice in 2026.”
“Nurses don’t need empty thank yous, we need a seat at the table,” said Ter Louw, who is also a member of the organizing committee. “When we join the Teamsters, we will have a legally binding voice fighting for safe staffing.”
Nurses have also accused Endeavor of union-busting activities. Earlier this year, Teamsters Local 743 filed charges against Endeavor with the National Labor Relations Board, after the union said two nurses were fired from Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital because of their union activities.
Endeavor did not comment directly on the alleged firings.
The Endeavor nurses needed at least 30% of potential bargaining unit members to sign union authorization cards to file the election petition with the National Labor Relations Board.
The petition filed Thursday is the second one from nurses at Endeavor hospitals in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, nurses at Endeavor Health Edward Hospital in Naperville filed a petition to hold a union election to be represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United.
If that election is successful, more than 1,000 nurses at that hospital would be unionized.
The move toward unionization comes at a potential turning point for Endeavor as a system. About a week ago, Endeavor and Rush University System for Health announced their plans to merge.
If that merger gains all the necessary regulatory approvals, the systems could come together in early 2027. Together, the merged system would include 12 hospitals, more than 46,000 employees and more than 400 sites of care, making it one of the largest hospital systems in the state.
The system’s leaders say the merger would improve access to quality care across the state.
Oswald, however, said nurses are unclear on what the merger would mean for them.
“We would like to be a part of the conversation, to know how is this going to affect us,” Oswald said.
About 2,000 nurses at Rush University Medical Center are already unionized, after voting earlier this year to be represented by the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United.