How the Illinois Nurses Association Helps Nurses Unionize Their Workplace

The Illinois Nurses Association (INA) supports workplace organizing through a dedicated "Organize Your Workplace" section on illinoisnurses.com. It offers a five-step guide to forming a union, a contact form that connects interested workers with a workplace organizer, and ongoing backing from a union that describes more than 50 years of advocacy for nurses and patients in Illinois. The path is open to nurses and co-workers who are not yet represented and want to explore organizing; the site does not publish dues, fees, or eligibility rules, so those details would come from an organizer.

The "Five Easy Steps to Forming a Union" Resource

The site lists this guide as a core organizing resource under its Organize Your Workplace section. The page confirms the resource exists and is part of the organizing pathway, but the excerpt available does not spell out the individual steps. Readers who want the step-by-step detail should open the guide directly from the Organize Your Workplace page rather than rely on secondhand summaries.

What the surrounding page does make clear is the reasoning behind organizing: without a union, the site argues, workers "leave all of your rights outside when you walk through the door to work," and that is something workers can change collectively.

The Organizer Contact Form: What It Asks For

The site's main organizing action is a form that connects a worker with a workplace organizer. Based on the page, the form collects:

The form is described as the way to "get connected with a workplace organizer to get the help and support you need." In practice, a nurse considering organizing would fill this out with their employment details and a short description of workplace concerns, then expect an organizer to make contact. The page does not state response times or what happens after first contact.

Support Offered to Workers Interested in Organizing

The INA frames itself as a healthcare union that works alongside employees rather than simply signing them up. Its stated commitments include:

• Working with you to build a valued workplace. The site says the association knows "how to work with you to create an environment where your contributions are valued."
• Collective power. Under the heading "Powerful Together," the INA emphasizes that change comes from workers acting together with the union, not from individuals acting alone.
• A broader healthcare mission. The association describes fighting for a system "where all workers and patients are valued – no matter who you are and where you come from," linking nurse organizing to patient care conditions.

The site also shows what organized workers have achieved, which serves as context for what organizing can lead to. Recent items include Howard Brown Health workers winning a first contract and Joliet Saint Joe's nurses winning what the site calls a "momentous new contract." These examples illustrate the contract outcomes the union publicizes, though they are the union's own announcements and not independent evaluations.

Practical Considerations Before You Start

• Organizing is collective. The site's framing assumes you and your co-workers act together; the form asks how many people work at your location because the size of the potential unit matters.
• Expect organizer involvement. The INA positions staff organizers as partners in the process, so the first step is a conversation, not a document.
• Details beyond the page require direct contact. Dues, timelines, election procedures, and legal specifics are not published on the organizing page. An organizer is the appropriate source for those questions.
• The site is also a news and events hub. Organizing updates, rallies, and contract wins appear under News and Events, which can help you see how the union operates before reaching out.

To begin, visit the Organize Your Workplace page on illinoisnurses.com, review the five-step guide, and submit the organizer form with your workplace information and concerns.