After working for months without a contract, nurses and other health professionals, members of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia walked off the job, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In total, 1,500 staff members are on strike. They had been without a contract since Sept. 30, according to the report. The hospital remains open with 400 physicians and 3,000 employees not involved in the dispute working with the help of around 800 temporary staffers.
Pay raises, cost of health insurance, tuition reimbursement and random drug testing are among the issues in negotiations, according to the report. PASNAP officials are also disputing a "gag clause" in contracts, which allows the hospital to terminate employees who publicly criticize the hospital.
Read the Inquirer's report on the Temple nurse strike.