Workers say that hospital executives are refusing to fix dire understaffing issues.
by Sharon Zhang, Truthout
Over 75,000 health care workers for Kaiser Permanente hospitals across the country began striking on Wednesday morning, launching what the union says is the largest health care strike in U.S. history after workers’ contract expired on Saturday with no new agreement in place.
The striking workers are largely concentrated in California, though thousands of workers have also walked out in Oregon, Washington and Colorado for a planned three-day strike. Meanwhile, roughly 400 workers in Washington, D.C. and Virginia are walking out for one day. Striking employees include vocational nurses, emergency department, X-ray and radiology technicians, sonographers, pharmacists, and more.
Like workers in many other recent health care strikes, Kaiser workers are frustrated with issues of understaffing, saying that Kaiser management seems to neglect patient care in favor of profits. Employees have reported being overworked and unable to properly address all of their patients’ concerns due to high patient loads and strict time constraints.
“Kaiser executives are refusing to listen to us and are bargaining in bad faith over the solutions we need to end the Kaiser short-staffing crisis,” Jessica Cruz, a licensed vocational nurse for Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center, said in a statement.
Recent Posts
CNBC Host Doesn’t Know How to Fix Runaway Healthcare Costs. Ro Khanna Says: Medicare for All
Take Action Now As health insurance companies rake in billions in profits, the California Democrat argues that a single-payer system would help US…
Labor, Community Groups Rally Against Trump’s Threats Of An ICE Invasion
Take Action Now White House backs off—for the moment—but the community is organized and readyBy JJ Lansing, 48hills Labor leaders and community…
The Data Brokers Fueling ICE’s Deportation Machine—And The Union Shareholders Fighting Back
Take Action Now “As investors, we are thinking about this as a risk to our investments, but also as a social and ethical issue.”By Maurizio…
The Murdering Of Boaters Is Public, Not Secret
Take Action Now Murdering boaters is not legal or illegal depending on whether the emperor has called his victims “terrorists.”By David Swanson,…