A union representing healthcare workers at Philadelphia-based Temple University Hospital is calling for hazard pay for members working during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports The Philadelphia Tribune.
The push comes from National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees AFSCME District 1199C, which contends its members, who are not physicians or nurses, deserve the pandemic pay.
"Our members have consistently come to work throughout this pandemic.They put their health in jeopardy, they put their family members' health in jeopardy to continue to keep the community and all of us safe during this pandemic," the union's president, Chris Woods, told the Tribune during a July 21 rally outside the hospital. "They deserve to get hazardous pay, and we're going to do everything we can to deliver that on behalf of our members."
About 40 union members participated in the rally this week, along with some state and local officials, reports radio station WHYY.
The union represents patient care technicians, attendants and administrative assistants at Temple.
A representative from Temple University Health System did not immediately respond to requests from the Tribune and WHYY for comment.