RNs at Rush University Medical Center demand enforceable safe staffing standards amid proposed Rush and Endeavor Health merger

Registered nurses at Rush University Medical Center, in Chicago, Ill., will hold a rally on Thursday, Oct. 22, to highlight their staffing proposals to improve patient safety, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC), an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing union of registered nurses in the nation. The nurses, who are in negotiations for their first union contract, have proposed language to improve RN staffing, including enforceable protections that ensure staffing decisions are driven by patient care needs, and are demanding that bedside nurses have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their patients.

Nurses say current staffing practices often leave them without adequate support to consistently provide safe care for their patients. Nurses aren’t able to take breaks, and their workload does not adequately account for their patients’ level of sickness, resulting in too many patients to care for. 

“Nurses come to work every day committed to giving our patients the best care possible, but we need the staffing and resources to do that,” said Keeley Binion, RN in general medicine at Rush and member of the bargaining team. “When nurses are stretched thin, unable to take their breaks, or expected to do more with less, it affects our ability to provide the care our patients deserve. We are fighting for a contract that puts safe patient care first and holds the hospital accountable to the nurses and patients who depend on it.” 

Who: RNs at Rush University Medical Center
What: Rally for Patient Safety
When: Thursday, Oct. 22, 12:30-1 p.m.
Where: Rush University Medical Center, 1620 W. Harrison, main entrance of the hospital

These concerns come amid the recently announced proposed merger between Rush and Endeavor Health, raising additional questions about the future of staffing, patient services, and working conditions. Nurses say the proposed merger further underscores the urgency of securing a strong first union contract with enforceable staffing protections that ensure patient care needs, not corporate priorities, drive staffing decisions.

“Nurses are concerned about what this proposed Rush-Endeavor merger could mean for our patients and the future of care at Rush,” said Erika Czopkiewicz, RN in the medical-surgical float pool and member of the bargaining team. “We've seen what can happen when hospital systems consolidate and decisions about patient care are made without the voices of bedside nurses. We cannot allow cuts in services or corporate decisions to determine the quality of care our patients receive. That's why we're fighting for a strong union contract with enforceable staffing protections that put our patients first.”

Rush nurses won their union election on May 18, 2026.

NNOC/NNU represents more than 1,800 registered nurses at Rush University Medical Center.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.