More than 2,600 Temple Health nurses and other medical professionals could strike as soon as next week, after union members voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a work stoppage.
Labor contracts for staff at Temple University Hospital – the main medical center on North Broad Street – and the newly-opened Temple Women & Families Hospital in Northwood expire Sept. 30.
The Temple University Hospital Nurses Association and Temple Allied Professionals held a strike poll on Friday, and 98% of those who participated selected “yes,” union officials said.
The vote is a necessary procedural step, allowing – but not requiring – labor leaders to call for a strike. Federal law mandates unions representing workers at healthcare institutions to provide at least 10 days’ notice before a work stoppage.
“Temple says federal cuts to Medicaid will devastate its balance sheet,” TUHNA president Marty Harrison said in a statement. “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,” she added. “We’re not going to be intimidated by a health system more concerned with increasing their footprint than taking care of their frontline staff.”
A Temple Health spokesperson, in a statement, said administrators feel the sides are “having productive discussions” and are “confident” that the process will end with a new contract.
“As expected, they authorized a strike,” the statement continued. “This is a part of the normal process – all unions do this as a common pressure tactic to add leverage to their bargaining position.”
Union members held “informational pickets” Sept. 10 at both hospitals to raise awareness about the issues involved in the negotiations – chiefly, workplace safety, according to TUHNA and TAP leaders.
An August survey of nurses at Temple main hospital conducted by the union found that two-thirds of respondents reported being the victims of violence on the job and nearly 80% said they do not feel safe.
Administrators are also proposing cuts to benefits that will lead to much higher costs for workers seeking care outside of the Temple Health system, labor organizers said. Pay and staffing at the new Women & Families Hospital are among the other sticking points, union officials added.
