124 Illinois prison nurses get layoff notices

Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration has told 124 Illinois prison nurses that their jobs are being privatized, a move their union blasted Tuesday as retaliation for its rejection of a contract offer last year.

Nurses stationed at 12 state prisons will be dismissed on June 15, two days after the contract nurses are hired, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press that the prison system's labor chief sent this week to the Illinois Nurses Association.

Alice Johnson, the association's executive director, noted the notice came just days after the union filed an unfair labor practices complaint with state regulators, claiming the first-term Republican governor has reneged on his obligation to negotiate contract terms in good faith. She said members overwhelmingly rejected a tentative agreement last spring and Rauner is retaliating.

"It's an attempt to bully and intimidate the nurses, and it's not going to work," Johnson told the AP.

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