The custodians, technicians, and clerks of Cook County, Illinois, never stopped working during the pandemic, even as many of their coworkers died of the virus. This week, they aren’t working. The 2,500 members of SEIU Local 73 are now in their second week of a strike.

Local 73 has been negotiating a contract for more than eight months, and the key point of debate is health benefits. The county has threatened to increase premiums by up to 80 percent over the length of the next contract. Seeing the success of fellow SEIU members at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Chicago Public Schools, Cook County workers want something similar. So far, the county, under the leadership of Cook County Board president Toni Preckwinkle, appears to want to make an example of Local 73. Despite the local’s support of Preckwinkle during her failed 2019 mayoral run, her negotiation team has made deals to settle contracts with other unions in the city with wage increases these striking workers are denied.

Sarah Hurd talked about the strike to Ericka White, who works in the procurement office of Cook County and is a union steward and negotiating team member for Local 73.