On Wednesday (4), more than 75,000 unionized employees of Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest nonprofit healthcare providers in the country, stopped working, initiating the largest strike of healthcare professionals in U.S. history.
The striking employees, who work in California, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., are represented by a coalition of eight unions that comprise 40% of Kaiser Permanente’s total staff. The vast majority of the striking workers are in West Coast states. The strike began at 6 a.m. local time and will continue until Saturday morning.
What are the workers fighting for?
Striking employees say that staff shortages have left them overwhelmed and exhausted. In a recent statement, Kaiser Permanente said it has agreed to expedite hiring, setting a goal of hiring 10,000 new people for union-represented jobs by the end of 2023.
The union coalition is also demanding higher wages.
Negotiations progressed before the strike began, but Kaiser Permanente’s management is still far from the goal of hiring new staff.
How to ensure patient care during the strike?
Although doctors and most nurses are not on strike, some services may be affected by the temporary work stoppage. In a statement, Kaiser Permanente said it is preparing for the strike, but patients should expect that some non-emergency and elective services may need to be rescheduled.
Other industries face strikes
Large-scale strikes have paralyzed companies and entire industries in recent months.
In the automotive industry, workers from the “United Auto Workers” union are on strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. This is the first time the union has gone on strike against all three simultaneously.
The entertainment industry also faced strikes this summer, after both Hollywood writers and actors’ unions went on strike at the same time for the first time since 1960. The writers’ leadership reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios last month, but the actors’ strike continues.
Source: CNN