Nearly all of the roughly 1,200 nurses at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital voted Monday, June 15, to authorize their bargaining committee to call a strike if contract talks do not produce a new agreement. The authorization passed by a 96 percent margin, union leaders said, ratcheting up a months-long dispute over staffing, benefits and clinic closures.
The balloting closed at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, and the union said the result gives negotiators the authority to issue a strike notice, though it does not automatically trigger a work stoppage. “Our patients deserve better than Jefferson is willing to deliver on its own. So do the nurses who care for them,” Einstein Nurses United co-president Stephanie Stucka said in the group’s statement, according to FOX 29 Philadelphia.
What Nurses Want
Einstein Nurses United says its top bargaining priorities include clearer staffing grids, protections for paid time off and pensions, and a cap on employees’ health-care cost increases. Members also accuse Jefferson of removing decision-making power from local nursing leadership and freezing capital investments that they say would improve care. The local union represents about 1,200 nurses at the hospital, the group says, as outlined by PASNAP.
Pediatric Clinic Closures Fueling Anger
Union members point to Jefferson Health’s recent decision to close four long-standing pediatric offices on June 30 as a concrete example of what they view as divestment from North Philadelphia. Jefferson has said some pediatric sites will transition to True North Pediatrics and that it remains committed to regional access, but nurses warn the changes will leave families with fewer local options after hospital births. Those closures and the hospital response have been detailed by WHYY.
Next Steps and Timeline
The nurses’ contract expired on April 30, 2026, according to the collective bargaining agreement published by PASNAP, leaving staff to bargain without a current deal. A strike authorization vote is an internal union step that gives leaders discretion to call a walkout if talks fail but does not itself start a strike, an industry explainer notes (Becker's Hospital Review).
State Sen. Sharif Street and State Rep. Darisha Parker, whose districts include the hospital, publicly backed the nurses and urged Jefferson to return to the table, according to FOX 29 Philadelphia. Jefferson Health has said it is bargaining in good faith and has contingency plans to protect patient care during any potential labor action, as reported by WHYY. For now, the vote hands the union negotiators leverage and sets up a high-stakes negotiating window that will determine whether a walkout ever takes place.
