For four years now, workers at Resurrection Health Care in Illinois have sought union representation with AFSCME Council 31 amid the stubborn opposition of their employer.

Their struggle, however, is more than just a fight to assert their rights as workers and make their voices heard. The hospital chain’s rapid expansion is not only having a severe impact on working conditions but also on patient care. Resurrection’s nearly 8,000 employees, including 2,000 nurses, are concerned about the service the hospital is providing the community, and rightfully so.

Poor management practices recently led Fitch Ratings, one of the nation’s top credit rating agencies, to downgrade Resurrection’s debt outlook from stable to negative. If that wasn’t enough, the hospital’s anti-union practices elicited a complaint from the National Labor Relations Board. Resurrection had to settle with the NLRB and was required, among other things, to inform its employees that they have the right to express support for labor unions.

Resurrection’s authorities can’t seem to read the writing on the wall. Their workers’ fight is not just about unionizing. It’s about dignity… for its employees and for its patients.

For more information about Resurrection workers’ struggle, visit www.reformresurrection.org