An Overwhelming Majority of 2,600 Nurses, Techs, and Healthcare Professionals at Temple University Hospital Vote to Authorize a Strike

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2025

CONTACT: Megan Othersen Gorman / mgorman@pasnap.com / (215) 817-5781

An Overwhelming Majority of 2,600 Nurses, Techs, and Healthcare Professionals at Temple University Hospital Vote to Authorize a Strike

WE ARE READY TO FIGHT FOR OUR PATIENTS AND OUR FUTURE

Temple says federal cuts to Medicaid will devastate its balance sheet. 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, retention, and patient safety are strategic investment number one.

PHILADELPHIA – On the heels of a massive informational picket that drew more than 1,000 PASNAP-represented Temple University Hospital registered nurses, techs, and professionals to the corner of Broad and Ontario at Temple Main and to the new Women & Families Hospital to protest unsafe working conditions, unsafe staffing conditions, and the deep cuts to benefits Temple management is proposing, Temple caregivers insist, we are ready to fight for our patients and our futures.

Today, 11 days ahead of their contract expirations on September 30th, the TUH nurses, technical specialists, and professionals voted by an overwhelming majority to authorize their bargaining committees to call a joint strike if the issues the caregivers have raised in ongoing negotiations remain unaddressed. 95% of both unions of caregivers voted to authorize 10-day strike notices to Temple.

Temple says federal cuts to Medicaid will devastate its balance sheet,” said Marty Harrison, RN, a longtime Temple University Hospital nurse and president of the Temple University Hospital Nurses Association. “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.”

Strike issues for Temple caregivers include:

• Escalating workplace violence, unchecked and often unacknowledged by Temple management: In an internal survey on workplace violence conducted in August 2025 of Temple University Hospital Main Campus RNs, 67% said they had personally experienced workplace violence at Temple Main and 94% said they believe that management has NOT established sufficient and appropriate security measures at Temple Main. Caregivers want and have proposed meaningful protections (see attached Issues Summary), every one of which Temple has rejected.

Temple needs to do better,” says Angelina Dadalski, RN, a Temple University Hospital ICU Nurse for 7 years. “An incident of workplace violence happens every single day. It’s the norm here. And management’s go-to response is no response. They want us to think that workplace violence is just a part of our jobs. What they’re refusing to hear is that it’s their job to care about our safety and the safety of our patients, and to invest in it.

• Deep benefits cuts: Temple is proposing cuts to benefits that will effectively take its caregivers backward, proposing dramatically increased costs for caregivers who seek care outside of the Temple system. Frontline caregivers who do not live close to a Temple facility or already have longstanding relationships with doctors outside of the Temple System will see their costs double for services outside of the system. 
• Safe staffing: The Temple Women & Families Hospital has opened, and management is relying on the dedication of the caregivers onsite to make things work for themselves and for their patients. Temple must add the necessary staff to ensure Women & Families provides the highest level of care and keeps its vulnerable babies and mothers safe.

“All we want is a safe work environment with safe staffing; real security measures and people that can keep us and our patients safe; and wages and benefits that will help retain experienced staff in the hospital,” says Aviles. “By ignoring the concerns of their frontline staff, Temple is risking the lives of patients who come to our hospital. We are not going backward – and we will not allow care for our patient community to go backward, either.”

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Temple University Hospital Nurses Association and Temple University Hospital Allied Health Professionals are affiliates of PASNAP, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, which represents more than 11,000 frontline healthcare workers across the commonwealth. PASNAP was founded 25 years ago on the belief that patients do better when frontline caregivers have a voice to advocate for their patients and themselves.