Temple nurses threaten strike
Temple University Hospital nurses and technical support workers have threatened to strike, saying say the hospital is not bargaining in good faith. Several hundred hospital workers held a noontime rally outside the hospital yesterday in north Philadelphia.
Temple University Hospital nurses and technical support workers have threatened to strike, saying say the hospital is not bargaining in good faith. Several hundred hospital workers held a noontime rally outside the hospital yesterday in north Philadelphia.
Listen:
[audio: 090928spnurses.mp3]
The hospital workers marched up Broad Street to deliver petitions to Temple Health CEO Edmond Notebaert.
“hey Temple you can’t hide we can see your greedy side…..”
The hospital workers say Temple wants to increase what they pay for health care, while ending a program that helps fund their children’s college tuition. They say if no agreement is reached they will stage a three day strike starting Friday. Lorenzo Glover is a respiratory therapist.
Glover: It’s basically a warning strike, just to let them know hey we’re serious about our demands that we have on the table. We feel that they’re not outrageous demands, we feed they’re equitable demands that we have on the table and they’re not willing to budge at all.
In a written statement, Temple University Hospital officials say the health plan they propose is already in place for non-union employees. The tuition benefit, they say, is now too costly.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.