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.<\/p>\n
Endeavor said in a statement Thursday that it \u201crespects the federally-protected rights of our nurses to make an informed choice about union representation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also recognize the challenges in providing safe, seamless patient care when a union acts as the intermediary between our nurses and the hospital leadership,\u201d Endeavor said. \u201c\u2026 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 \u201cbecause we are the union\u201d \u2014 a statement that drew cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
![\"Tricia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CTC-L-ENDEAVOR-UNIONIZATION_0033.jpg\")
Tricia Poreda, a critical care resource nurse at Endeavor, speaks to a crowd supporting nurses from Endeavor hospitals during a rally in Evanston on Oct. 23, 2026. (Nate Swanson\/for the Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Nurses clad in blue and yellow shirts that read \u201cTeamsters Nurses for Nurses\u201d chanted and rang bells to celebrate their move toward unionizing. A black Teamsters semitruck parked directly in front of the Endeavor office.<\/p>\n
Nurse Lori Ford said she\u2019s worked at Endeavor\u2019s north suburban hospitals for 40 years, and she\u2019s seen a deterioration in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince Endeavor took over the focus has palpably shifted from healthcare to the business of healthcare, essentially putting profits over patients,\u201d Ford said.<\/p>\n
She said in addition to being a longtime employee of the system, her husband has also long been a patient there, and they\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough we are a dual income household we\u2019re 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\u2019re facing in this economy,\u201d Ford said. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
An Endeavor spokesperson said in a statement Friday that the surcharge will apply only if an employee chooses to cover a spouse who has access to health coverage through their own employer but doesn\u2019t want to use it. <\/p>\n
Endeavor Nurse Stacey Oswald said she\u2019s 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\u2019s needed on any given day, she said.<\/p>\n
ICU nurses should typically have one or two patients at a time, she said. But she said there have been \u201cnumerous days\u201d when multiple ICU nurses had three patients each, and Endeavor was scrambling to get nurses to pick up more hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had these unsafe ratios and it directly affects the patients and us as nurses,\u201d Oswald told the Tribune in an interview Thursday.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CTC-L-ENDEAVOR-UNIONIZATION_0005.jpg\")
A supporter chant together with a crowd to support nurses from Endeavor hospitals during a rally in Evanston on Oct. 23, 2026. (Nate Swanson\/for the Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Endeavor previously said in a statement it \u201cincreased pay opportunity for our nursing team members twice in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNurses don\u2019t need empty thank yous, we need a seat at the table,\u201d said Ter Louw, who is also a member of the organizing committee. \u201cWhen we join the Teamsters, we will have a legally binding voice fighting for safe staffing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Endeavor did not comment directly on the alleged firings.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The petition filed Thursday is the second one from nurses at Endeavor hospitals in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, nurses at Endeavor Health Edward Hospital in Naperville filed a petition to hold a union election<\/a> to be represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United.<\/p>\n If that election is successful, more than 1,000 nurses at that hospital would be unionized.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The system\u2019s leaders say the merger would improve access to quality care across the state.<\/p>\n Oswald, however, said nurses are unclear on what the merger would mean for them.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would like to be a part of the conversation, to know how is this going to affect us,\u201d Oswald said.<\/p>\n