Message to Staff: Staff Expectations During Strike

Dear UI Health—

The University is in contract negotiations with five bargaining units (all of which are expired). We need to ensure that we have appropriate processes in place to safeguard our patients, our employees, and the hospital.  The following expectations are in place.

Continuation of Job Duties

Standard expectations concerning job duties continues. This includes, but is not limited to, precepting and orienting of staff, arriving to the unit on time, etc. Extra help employees performing duties in SEIU job classes are not represented by SEIU and should be advised by their supervisor to report to work as scheduled.

Telework

Employees working from home may continue to do so, unless called in by their supervisor. Those employees who remain on a telework assignment must check in and out with their supervisor via phone at the beginning and end of their work day. Employees represented by the INA or SEIU who fail to check in and out with their supervisor will be considered on strike.

Safety & Parking

During a strike everyone deserves safety, and everyone is expected to comply with the law and policy.

We want to reassure all of our staff that we will have appropriate measures in place to ensure safety.

Employees should park where they normally park.

We will have UIC Police and/or Security presence at:

• Main Hospital South Entrance
• Employee Entrance next to the Emergency Department (East)
• Hospital North Entrance
• 2 South OCC bridge connection to Wood Street Parking Structure
• Continuous Security Patrols within the Wood Street Parking Structure
• Continuous Security Patrols within Paulina Street Parking Structure

UIC Police will be present and monitoring the situation 24/7.

If you feel threatened at any time, report the action to any police officer, or call them at 5-5555. If you would like a security escort please contact 6-8888.

In addition, you may report it to Hospital Administration at 1-312-996-3900, or email uihhr@uic.edu.

Attendance

If the INA or SEIU calls a strike and if an employee’s job class or title is not prevented from striking by an injunction, staff represented by the union may choose to strike, or to work. That decision belongs to each individual.

Employees who choose to strike will not be paid.

Employees not represented by the union(s) on strike are all expected to work as scheduled.

Overtime

Overtime may be assigned in accordance with normal practice, including mandatory overtime.  Employees who are not represented by a striking union may be required to work overtime on the strike date(s), in accordance with normal practice, as directed by their unit.

Sick Leave

Employees who are represented by a striking union will not be permitted to use sick leave during the strike.  Any sick leave call-offs by employees represented by a striking union will be considered on strike and unpaid.

The only exceptions will be for protected leave such as Family Medical Leave, VESSA, Military Leave, and the like, and only if approved, consistent with leave authorization letters, and for valid, non-fraudulent reasons.

Employees who are not represented by a striking union will be permitted to use sick leave on the strike date for valid reasons.  To ensure that is the case on the strike date, sick leave will be permitted only if the employee provides University Health Service with documentation of illness, satisfactory to UHS.  An employee who needs to call off sick may do so in either of two ways:

• Reporting in person to UHS for evaluation.  UHS will make the determination as to whether the employee is too ill to work
• Or, providing documentation of illness to UHS afterward.  UHS will determine whether the documentation is adequate to support use of sick leave.

If UHS does not approve the medical documentation for the strike date, the employee’s absence will be unexcused and unpaid, and normal disciplinary rules will apply.  If UHS does approve the medical documentation, the employee’s accrued sick leave balance may be used to the extent it is approved by the employee’s department, consistent with normal requirements governing use of sick leave.

The only exceptions will be for protected leave such as Family Medical Leave, VESSA, Military Leave, and the like, and only if approved, consistent with leave authorization letters, and for valid, non-fraudulent reasons.

Vacation

For all employees, the only vacation absences that will be permitted will be those that were both previously approved and not canceled.

Other call-offs

Call-offs for any reason other than those listed above will be considered unexcused and unpaid, and normal processes will apply.

Attachments: Staff FAQs, originally sent September 4, 2020

We know this is a difficult time, and we are all grateful for the tremendous efforts so many are making to ensure that we continue to provide quality care.

Sincerely,

Nicholas Haubach
Chief Human Resources Officer

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