CHICAGO, IL -- U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky was joined by Senators Durbin and Obama and Representatives Bean, Costello, Davis, Emanuel, Evans, Gutierrez, Jackson Jr., Lipinski and Rush in sending a letter to Resurrection Health Care President Joseph Toomey requesting that he take steps to begin a dialogue on worker organizing with AFSCME Council 31.

Resurrection’s management has so far rejected AFSCME’s requests to hold discussions on worker organizing. Depressed wages and unsafe nurse staffing ratios have led many workers at Resurrection to consider organizing a union in order to increase their bargaining power.

The full text of the letter from the members of Congress is below:

Mr. Joseph Toomey
President and Chief Executive Officer
Resurrection Health Care
7435 West Talcott Avenue
Chicago, IL  60631

Dear Mr. Toomey:

We are writing to you regarding employees at Resurrection Health Care who are working with AFSCME Council 31 to form a union.  We understand that their organization, HEART/AFSCME, has sought a dialogue with Resurrection management in order to establish a fair process that ensures employees’ freedom to choose whether or not to form a union.  We urge you to immediately take steps to begin such a dialogue.

As cosponsors of S.842/H.R.1696, the Employee Free Choice Act, we are all too well aware of the inadequacy of current labor law in providing for a free and fair choice process regarding union representation. The NLRB process is inadequate to ensure an environment free from fear for the employees.  All too often, the process opens the door to aggressive campaigns of interference with workers’ organizing efforts.

As legislators, we have worked hard to protect and strengthen the most basic rights of workers: the freedom of association and the right to organize.  It is our commitment to those rights that motivates us to communicate our concerns regarding the current situation at Resurrection Health Care. 

We urge you to initiate a dialogue with your employees and AFSCME Council 31 to create an environment at all Resurrection hospitals that truly respects employees’ right to organize.  We firmly believe that this would be both fair and sensible, paving the way for improved communications between employees and management which in turn can bring improved patient care, a goal we all share. 

Thank you for your consideration.