From [HERE] After 18 days on the picket line, workers with Chicago’s Service Employees International Union Local 73 reached a deal to return to work Tuesday.

The strike ended with a tentative agreement between Cook County and the 2,500-odd county service workers who form part of the union's Chicago-area branch membership. It was the longest strike in the union's 100-year history.

The standoff began when more than 10 months of negotiations between the union and the county broke down in June. SEIU Local 73's collective bargaining contract with the county expired on Dec. 1, 2020, and union members have been working without the protection of a contract since then.

The new contract has not yet been finalized, but a press release put out by union leadership Tuesday said it included much of what the striking workers wanted.

The four-year deal includes a base pay raise over that time – the 8.5% offered by county officials, according to local news reports – as well an expanded health care plan, Covid-19 pandemic hazard pay and the prioritization of senior union members for hiring and promotions.

SEIU officials said negotiators will resolve the remaining issues within the week as union members go back to work.

"Cook County workers showed real bravery by going out on strike to demand respect from the county. This contract has real wins for workers that they should be proud of as it turns the page on decades of Local 73 members being considered second-class citizens at the county,” said Dian Palmer, president of SEIU Local 73, in a statement.

She added, ““These are the essential, frontline workers that kept our county running during the worst pandemic of our lifetime who stood up for themselves, their families, and the communities they serve, during this strike to demand better.”

Local 73 is overwhelmingly made up of Black and brown workers, especially women of color. Its members work in county hospitals, public offices, schools and the Cook County Jail. Though they are not medical or education workers per se – most are employed as custodians, technicians, counselors and clerks – they work closely with nurses and teachers. [MORE]