Q: What is HEART?

Written by Bob Simpson
A:  HEART is Healthcare Employees Acting at Resurrection Together, a committee of Resurrection employees who are working to improve our working conditions and our hospitals by organizing a union with AFSCME Council 31.

Q: What is Friends of HEART?

Written by Bob Simpson
A: Friends of HEART is a network of labor and community allies, along with religious leaders, who believe in the importance of community health care and workers’ rights to form a union.

Q: Why is AFSCME Council 31 concerned with access to and quality of care?

Written by Bob Simpson
A:  One of the main concerns of Resurrections employees is the quality of care they are able to provide in an increasingly corporate environment.  Resurrection employees have also expressed concern that corporatization has caused their facilities to drift away from Catholic Health Care’s  traditional emphasis on providing care to all those who need it. 

Q: If employees want a union, why can’t they just vote one in?

Written by Bob Simpson
A: Current U.S. labor law makes a “fair”election regarding union representation almost impossible.  Resurrection employees have been subjected to an intense, well-orchestrated campaign of disinformation and intimidation since they began to form their union.  Without a fair process, many employees will make their decision on unionization based on fear, not on what they believe is in their best interests.

Q: Doesn’t Catholic social teaching support workers’ rights?

Written by Bob Simpson
A: Yes. Catholic doctrine is clear on the rights of workers to organize a union to better their lot in life.  Unfortunately, Resurrection Health Care has consistently ignored this element of Catholic teaching in their ongoing anti-union effort.  They’ve even hired the notorious union-busting law firm Seyfarth Shaw.

Q: Doesn’t Resurrection already have processes for employees to express their opinions?

Written by Bob Simpson
A: The committees RHC has created for the purpose of employee input carry no real weight or authority.  Only a legally binding contract – negotiated on equal terms between management and employees -- can give employees a real voice in the workplace.

Q: Access to health care is a problem everywhere—why focus on Resurrection’s failings?

Written by Bob Simpson
A: Resurrection Health Care is the largest Catholic health care system in Illinois, and the second-largest health care system in Chicagoland. With its many resources and comfortable position in Chicago’s health care market, employees want Resurrection to act like a leader and work to improve quality and access to care.  Unfortunately, Resurrection has chosen to drive patient care standards down and to limit access to the poor and uninsured.