There’s more labor unrest in the U.S. as 75,000 health care workers are striking in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Virginia and Washington, D.C. over pay and staffing shortages. Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s largest insurers and healthcare organizations.
With 39 hospitals nationwide, the nonprofit provides health care coverage and care to 13 million Americans.
Kaiser brought in more than $2 billion in the second quarter of 2023 compared to a loss of more than $1 billion in 2022; workers say they want their share.
The strike, approved by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, is set to last three days in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, and just one day in Virginia and the District of Columbia.
While tens of thousands of vocational nurses, home health aides, ultrasound sonographers, and technicians in X-ray, surgical, radiology, pharmacy, and emergency departments walk out, doctors are not. Hospitals, along with emergency departments, will be open through the strike.
According to The Associated Press, Kaiser is bringing in thousands of temporary workers to fill the holes and ensure patient care during the strike. But wait times will likely increase, and non-urgent procedures may have to be rescheduled.
Negotiations between Kaiser officials and workers are ongoing as the unions demand a long-term fix to staffing shortages, which have been exacerbated since the start of the pandemic, along with better pay and benefits.
In a statement on Monday, Oct. 2, Kaiser acknowledged the staffing pitfalls and said in part, “…healthcare is still under great stress. More than 5 million people have left their health care jobs, and burnout is at record highs.”
While negotiations are ongoing, the unions said that if a deal isn’t made, there will be another, more prolonged strike in November, which would include more Washington health care workers whose contract is up on Oct. 31.
This picketing marks the latest significant action by workers in the U.S. This year, tens of thousands of workers went on strike for better pay and benefits across multiple industries, including entertainment, automotive, health care, and hospitality.
