Chicago, IL – Workers at Cook County in Illinois have been on strike for two weeks as of today, July 8. Yesterday the workers ratcheted up the pressure on Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle with a large rally and sit-in at the president’s office.

Earlier in the day the workers had continued to picket at Stroger and Provident Hospitals, the County Jail, the Markham Courthouse, and multiple construction sites. Later they carpooled in large numbers to Daley Plaza where the Cook County Building is. Once there they started out by shutting down and holding an intersection for more than ten minutes then led a march which wrapped fully around all sides of the building. As this was occurring outside the building, a smaller group of strikers went into the building and up to the fifth floor where Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle’s office is located and delivered a letter of solidarity from unions and community supporters. Preckwinkle’s staff would not come out to talk to the crowd, so they decided to stay and occupy the area to demand that Preckwinkle settle their union contract.

This sit-in and rally came on the 13th day of around 2000 county workers being on strike demanding a fair contract like the one that the county agreed to with its AFSCME and National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC)-represented workers. With those unions, the county agreed to 8.5% in pay raises over four years and both unions also won improvements to their wage schedules. NNOC received three additional step increases for longevity of 2% each. The AFSCME members won an increase to the top step of the wage scale which caused an adjustment across the scale creating pay increases at all levels. The SEIU members say they deserve a contract similar to the ones that the county has already agreed to with its other unions. The Cook County SEIU members say their longevity increases have been diminishing throughout their wage scale. Additionally, their healthcare costs have been rising.

The striking union members held a mass call on Wednesday, July 7, out of which they made a new commitment to stand strong and continue the fight for the contract they deserve. They also began preparations to hold a large online civil disobedience training, signaling again that they are not likely to back down any time soon and area ready to do what it takes to win.

The Cook County strike is not the first strike in recent years that has taken place in the Chicago area in which working class union members are having to fight back against attacks from elected officials who are Democrats. Preckwinkle is a Democrat and is in charge of the union negotiations for Cook County. The Chicago Teachers Union has had to hold multiple strikes in recent years during negotiations with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and before that Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who are both members of the Democrat party. It has become increasingly clear that the only way that workers can get a fair shake in negotiations is if they make their voices heard loud and clear on the strike lines and in the streets, regardless which party is in office.

#ChicagoIL #SEIULocal73 #PeoplesStruggles #Strikes #CookCountyStrike

Chicago, IL – Hundreds of workers clad in purple rallied in 90-degree heat in front of Provident Hospital on Chicago’s South Side today, July 5. According to Ericka White, a county employee in the business office and an elected member of the bargaining committee for Local 73, “Our members are strong and we’re going to win our demands.”

The strike of 2500 employees of Cook County Health, County Jail, and the county corporate offices continues because of this strength. A popular chant heard for two hours was, “One day longer, one day stronger!”

Earlier last week, management settled with three other unions: National Nurses United (who had staged a one day strike on Thursday, June 24), the Teamsters, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. On June 28, a “best and final offer” was made to Local 73, but management hid that the other agreements included additional pay raises in anniversary steps.

Local 73 members include the county employees with the lowest pay grades, and the negotiators for County Board President Toni Preckwinkle are threatening to make worse the pay disparity between SEIU and the other workers.

A large number of Local 73 members were prevented from striking by a court injunction. Those workers report to the strikers that the county's plan to bring in strikebreakers failed because the agency workers are refusing to do the work and complaining about the hours. Earlier this holiday weekend, Larry Alcoff, lead negotiator for SEIU, said, “Management came to the table on Friday not to settle the contract, but to get you back to work, because they can’t run this hospital without you!”

Today, Alcoff reported that management had put more on the table than in their ‘final offer,’ but the two sides are still separated by a dollar amount so small, it amounts to one-twentieth of 1% of county’s $7 billion budget, not including the $1 billion county is receiving from the federal American Rescue Plan. The difference in the two sides amounts to $25 per worker per year.

“This is not an economic decision. This is a political decision by management,” Alcoff added. “We will give them 24 hours to get this deal done. If it’s not finished, tomorrow we will march the entire labor movement, and our elected officials, into Hyde Park [Cook County President Preckwinkle’s neighborhood] to show we’re not taking it anymore!”

#ChicagoIL #SEIULocal73 #PeoplesStruggles #publicSectorUnions #Strikes #CookCountyStrike

Chicago, IL – Striking members of SEIU Local 73 in the highway and transportation division of Cook County government shut down a construction site in Buffalo Grove, a town in the suburbs northwest of Chicago. This two-mile long bridge project was shut down on Friday, June 25, the first day of the strike. The union Operating Engineers, Laborers, and Carpenters are respecting the picket line at the county construction site in Buffalo Grove. This is a $60 million project with $29 million in federal funds.

Monday, June 28, in the southwest suburbs, the same division of Local 73 members shut down construction at 95th Street and Roberts Road in Hickory Hills at 6 a.m.

Tuesday, June 29 was the most dramatic day of protest yet. Hundreds of workers in purple marched around the building which houses Chicago City Hall and the Cook County offices. Then they marched in and occupied the building for an hour. Accompanied by drums and cymbals, they sat down and with purple whistles, filled the air with the noise.

Purple is SEIU’s union color.

After an hour, they marched across the street to Daley Plaza, where Stacy Davis Gates, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), addressed the rally. “Your dignity is embedded in what you are willing to fight for and win. CTU is here to say if you need six or seven days, we got your back. And if you need any more than that, we’ll shut it down with a sea of red and purple!”

Red the is union color of CTU.

After the downtown protest, 50 strikers went to Hyde Park to protest at a fundraiser for Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle. The politicians and big donors attending the event had to walk through a formation of strikers. Preckwinkle herself had to get through the picketers, who booed her on the way in. The workers appealed to Preckwinkle’s supporters to give their money instead to the hardship fund to supports the strikers. Local 73 members include the lowest-paid employees of Cook County.

#ChicagoIL #SEIULocal73 #PeoplesStruggles #strike #PublicSectorUnions #Strikes #TeachersUnions #CookCountyStrike