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
Schumer, Who’s More Unpopular Than Trump, Gets a Challenger for Majority Leader
Take Action Now Trump has hit record low approval ratings during his second term, but even fewer Americans approve of Schumer.By Sharon Zhang,…
Populism Without A Party Or Why Senator Chuck Schumer Should Not Be Majority Leader Of The Senate
Take Action Now The 2026 election was a rebuke to the GOP more than an embrace of the Democrats, a rejection of corruption, an expression of…
The Real AI Misalignment Problem Is Capitalism
Take Action Now Figures at top AI firms says that their frontier models are running out of control. It points to a problem Big Tech finds harder to…
Schumer, Jeffries Odds Rise Despite Democrats’ Push for Leadership Change
Take Action Now The Democratic coalition remains divided about whether Schumer and Jeffries, both New York Democrats, should remain party leaders, or…