Dan Assaraf
Dan Assaraf
YDS
In 2009, Dan Assaraf, Colin Johnson, and Don Hopkins were involved in Young Democratic Socialists at Temple University, Philadelphia, with Sean Monahan.[1]
Temple trouble
She is the president of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, and a Registered Nurse with nearly 40 years of experience, most recently in one of Philadelphia's busiest Emergency Departments/Trauma Centers.
December 2009, members of Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) and union officials gathered together students, Temple staff and community members to educate the Temple community on the day-to-day realities of healthcare providers at Temple Hospital. President of AFSCME Local 1723 and Temple University Staff Paul Dannenfelser began the discussion by sharing that this was another chapter in the story of Temple University’s approach to Labor on campus. He shared that his union went through a similar two-year fight for a contract in which Temple University was “not only anti-union but anti-worker.” He expressed earnestly the energy of the room, saying, “The nurses’ fight is our fight, the student fight is our fight. We are all in this together.”
The panel of speakers consisted mostly of PASNAP nurses and allied professionals. Patty Eakin, an Emergency Room RN at Temple for the last ten years, and President of PASNAP, spoke about the importance of fighting for minimum nurse-to-patient ratios at Temple as well as state-wide.
Students from the Temple College Democrats, Student Labor Action Project and the Temple Democratic Socialists were part of the coalition that Temple Nurses and Allied Professionals brought together to support their struggle. Dan Assaraf from Temple Democratic Socialists situated the Temple Nurses’ Union fight in the broader global economy and gave numerous examples of the impact of labor movement victories on the quality of life and labor standards for all people even outside of organized industries. Kate Harkin from the Student Labor Action Project encouraged students to hold Temple University President Ann Weaver Hart responsible for the bad faith bargaining that PASNAP articulated. She also joined with other student leaders to express the importance of joining the coalition of support for the Temple Nurses. [2]