Workers at 6 Chicago-Area Nursing Homes Just Set a Strike Date Over Pay They Call Below Industry Standard

Chicago, Illinois — Union workers at six Landmark nursing homes across Chicago and its suburbs have set a strike date: 6 a.m. on October 16. If management doesn’t settle a contract before then, caregivers at all six facilities walk out at the same time.

SEIU Healthcare Illinois, the union representing the workers, announced the plan after contract talks stalled. The fight centers on pay. Union leaders say the six homes — Momence Meadows, Landmark of Lincoln Park, Landmark of Itasca, Landmark of Oak Lawn, Landmark at 95th, and Landmark of Cicero — pay their staffs below what workers could earn at comparable union facilities.

What the union says

“Below-industry-standard pay makes it harder to retain experienced caregivers and recruit new workers, contributing to staffing instability that directly affects the continuity of care residents depend on,” the union said in a statement.

The union’s supporting math: more than 120 nursing homes pay their union staff significantly higher wages than Landmark workers make. Workers’ argument, in short, is that higher pay isn’t out of reach in this market — this employer just isn’t offering it.

The walkout plan

If no deal comes together, the union says workers will stage an Unfair Labor Practice strike starting at 6 a.m. October 16. The statement left the door open: workers “remain hopeful that management will do the right thing and settle a fair contract that addresses their longstanding concerns about below-industry-standard wages and its impact on staffing levels.” But they also made clear that without movement, they’ll strike.

SAK Healthcare, the parent company of the Landmark homes, had not publicly responded to the strike notice as of this writing.

Why the timing matters

A simultaneous walkout across six buildings would force an operator to keep care running with agency staff, overtime, and managers filling gaps — none of which comes cheap, and all of which carries its own risks. It’s also the latest sign that pay has become the central battleground in long-term care labor. In Buffalo last month, union workers at Catholic Health facilities picketed over a contract dispute with similar themes, and in Minnesota, nursing home workers just won a raise after the state locked in a new wage floor for the industry.

For now, the clock runs toward October 16. Whether the six homes spend that morning short-handed or fully staffed depends on whether the two sides close a wage gap before then.