Temple University

Almost half the classes at Temple University are taught by adjuncts - part time faculty who work with no job security and little access to benefits. Now, a group of adjuncts is campaigning to form a union and join Temple's branch of the American Federation of Teachers.

Nurses and other healthcare professionals share stories that expose the impact on patients when Temple Hospital maximizes profits by cutting medical supplies, understaffing and decreasing patients' length of stay at the hospital. PASNAP (Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals) are striking over a contract that would institute a 'gag clause,' effectively barring these health professionals from advocating for patient safety.

The nurses and technical professionals that work at Temple Hospital started their strike Wednesday with a rally that brought out 1,200 people to show their support. Listen to a report from Labor Justice Radio on the first day of the strike.

The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) is winning an ongoing battle against Temple University Hospital. PASNAP wants reimbursement for tuition benefits that Temple abruptly stopped providing last March despite the fact that the benefits are part of their current contract. Jerry Silberman, staff representative, spoke with me about this legal fight and also discussed PASNAP's negotiations for a new contract.

In this audio piece, Kate Harkins, of Temple University's Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) discusses what she learned from listening to the stories of Temple Nurses and Allied Professionals (members of PASNAP).

Tuesday evening, members of Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) and union officials gathered together students, Temple staff and community members to educate the Temple community on the day-to-day realities of healthcare providers at Temple Hospital. President of AFSCME Local 1723 and Temple University Staff Paul Dannenfelser began the discussion by sharing that this was another chapter in the story of Temple University’s approach to Labor on campus. He shared that his union went through a similar two-year fight for a contract in which Temple University was “not only anti-union but anti-worker.” He expressed earnestly the energy of the room, saying, “The nurses’ fight is our fight, the student fight is our fight. We are all in this together.”
 

In a preliminary ruling at the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, the Temple University Hospital Nurses Association (TUHNA) won an important victory potentially forcing the university to reinstate healthcare workers' right to tuition remission for dependents. This ruling is compounded by an overwhelming vote by nurses to reject the Temple University Health System's (TUHS) contract offer, which amongst other things asked nurses to double their monthly contribution to healthcare. While negotiations between the nurses and university administration continue, the possibilities of a major strike of healthcare workers looms.

At 12PM Monday September 28th, nurses from the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses And Practicioners will hold a rally outside Temple Hospital at Broad and Tioga. The nurses are planning  a three-day strike on the following weekend, October 3rd, over a contract dispute with Temple University Health System (TUHS).  The core concerns for nurses at Temple is TUHS's refusal to negotiate over salary (including negotiations over cost of living increases); Temple's recent decision to phase out tuition reimbursement for dependents of hospital employees, and what PASNAP believes is an excessive increases in employee contribution to healthcare (TUHS is asking employee contributions to jump from $180 a month to $360 a month). 

See previous coverage over TUHS's decision to shutdown Northeastern Hospital this summer:

Northeastern Hospital Closure Haunts Temple

The Human Right to Healthcare: Northeastern Hospital is Ground Zero

Northeastern Hospital is Too Important to Close