Labor & Employment Law

Striking Temple Hospital Workers Reach Agreement

By James Parks

Some 1,500 striking workers, including 1,000 nurses and 500 health care professionals, at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia are voting today on a new tentative agreement reached last night. If they ratify the new deal, the workers could be back at work as early as Friday.

Members of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), have been on strike since March 31. They have been without a contract since September.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the new contract, which expires in October 2013, includes wage increases and provides some tuition reimbursement for dependents.

The key issues in the strike included wages, health benefits, a new clause forbidding employees from disparaging the hospital and the withdrawal of tuition reimbursement for dependents, a longtime benefit.

The hospital brought in more than 850 replacement workers from across the country, many of whom worked 12-hour shifts for several days. Nurses on the picket lines received complaints from patients and their families about the poor care they received with the replacement workers. A patient even walked out to the picket line to complain about her care.

The striking workers gained strong support from local unions and religious, civil rights and student groups. Unions throughout Philadelphia donated $10,000 to help strikers who might need financial help during the strike. In March, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President William George held a press conference to pledge the union movement’s support for the workers.

Filmmaker Michael Moore endorsed the strike, saying in a statement:

It is an embarrassment that an otherwise fine institution of higher learning would treat its own nurses and other health professionals with such contempt.

During a rally at the hospital last week, Kate Harkins, a member of the Temple University Student Labor Action Project told the strikers:

We cannot allow Temple to become another graveyard for workers’ rights.

Elected officials also gave the workers strong backing. Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) joined the negotiations for two days earlier this month and 11 state legislators signed a letter to hospital executives urging them to negotiate a fair contract. The Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on the hospital to negotiate fairly. The city controller also wrote a letter to the hospital saying the replacement workers were responsible for paying city taxes on the money they earned during the strike.   

For more on the strike and settlement, click here.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on April 28, 2010 (boomark / email).