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Temple University Hospital nurses vote to authorize strike
Temple University Hospital caregivers voted to authorize a strike Friday amid contract disputes.
PHILADELPHIA - An overwhelming majority of 2,600 nurses, techs, and healthcare professionals at Temple University Hospital have voted to authorize a strike, signaling their readiness to fight for patient safety and their future.
The decision comes as contract negotiations remain unresolved, with caregivers demanding better working conditions and benefits.
What we know:
The vote follows a massive informational picket that drew over 1,000 PASNAP-represented caregivers to protest unsafe staffing and working conditions, as well as proposed cuts to benefits.
With contracts set to expire on September 30, 98 percent of union members voted to authorize their bargaining committees to issue a 10-day strike notice if their concerns are not addressed.
This strike authorization impacts nurses, techs, and professionals at Temple Main and at the Women & Families Hospital.
What they're saying:
Marty Harrison, RN, president of the Temple University Hospital Nurses Association, highlighted the discrepancy between Temple's financial claims and its spending in a press release Friday.
"Temple says federal cuts to Medicaid will devastate its balance sheet," said Harrison. "But they’re spending tens of millions buying out Holy Redeemer’s share of Chestnut Hill Hospital and tens of millions more opening the new Women and Families Hospital, calling them strategic investments in the future of the institution. Contracts for Temple’s frontline caregivers that prioritize protection and retention are strategic investment number one. We have to be able to retain our skilled experienced staff and recruit new staff to Temple’s flagship hospital here on Broad Street."
"I'm expecting a lot of things to happen when the Medicaid cuts come through. But what won’t happen is that we’ll be seeing fewer patients – we’ll be seeing more! Our ERs will be exploding. What does that mean for our patients and for the people who care for them? That’s what we’re focused on. We’re not going backward. We’re not going to be intimidated by a health system more concerned with increasing their footprint than taking care of their frontline staff."
"We have a healing mission," said PASNAP President Maureen May, RN, a longtime Temple University Hospital Mother/Baby Nurse who now practices in Temple’s new Women & Families Hospital. "We want to heal our patients. We want to heal our community. And we want to be part of healing a system that doesn’t always have our backs."
The other side:
Temple Health responded in a statement sent to FOX 29 Friday night:
"As expected, they authorized a strike. This is a part of the normal process—all unions do this as a common pressure tactic to add leverage to their bargaining position.
We feel we’re having productive discussions on all the issues that the union has raised, and those discussions are ongoing as part of our regular labor relations process. This is the standard course of business in a contract negotiation. Just like we’ve done in multiple other labor agreements this year, we’re confident this process will lead to a contract that does right by our employees and Temple Health and allows us to continue doing what we’re all here to do: provide our patients with the high-quality care they deserve."
What's next:
As the contract expiration date approaches, the caregivers' unions are ready to issue strike notices if the outcome of negotiations are not in their favor.