The Kaiser strike is just part of the problem with the U.S. health care
The Kaiser Health Care Network Will Not Be Solved By The 2023 Workers’ Strike or Because Employees are Trying to Get Their Oasis Off the Job
The Kaiser strike seeds were sown before the P.N. outbreak and it worsened issues afflicting workers. The problems at the Kaiser network are not unique and will not be solved by this strike. Health care workers have already taken to the picket line at hospitals and clinics across the country this year — six of the 19 work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2023 were in health care. Providers commit to serving others. That so many are walking off the job in protest means the conditions are so unsustainable, there’s no option left but to take this action of last resort.
Over 75,000 workers — including nurses, emergency department technicians, pharmacists and hundreds of others — went on strike in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The health care provider has said its hospitals and emergency departments will remain open throughout the strike, staffed by physicians and other staff. It said it is onboarding professionals who will service in critical care roles during the strike.
Kaiser has warned patients that non-emergency and elective services may be rescheduled. The organization is expanding its network of pharmacy locations to include community pharmacies, to ensure patients can access medication in the event that outpatient pharmacies temporarily close. Inpatient pharmacies at Kaiser hospitals will stay open.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions: After the Pandemic, Workers Can Rejoin and They Are Trying to Affect Pay and Pay
They’re the latest group of crucial workers to strike over work conditions and pay this year, after the Hollywood writers and the ongoing United Auto Workers strike, among others.
Health care workers are attracted to this profession because of their passion for it. It’s a calling,” said Caroline Lucas, executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. “And folks don’t feel comfortable staying at jobs where they don’t feel like they can give the best patient care possible.”
The unions allege Kaiser has engaged in unfair labor practices by refusing to bargain in good faith to solve the staffing crisis. Kaiser denies these allegations.
The collective bargaining agreement for employees represented by a coalition of unions expired on September 30 without a new agreement in place. The unions and Kaiser executives are still far apart on key sticking points, including wages, despite progress on issues such as outsourcing and subcontracting protections during talks over the weekend.
The two sides reached a tentative agreement on Monday on a 40% increase to an education fund, that will support additional training for employees, according to the SEIU-UHW union in California.
But the coalition is asking for a pay raise of nearly 25% for all of its members along with better benefits, such as medical coverage for retirees. With better pay and work conditions, the unions say, more people would be incentivized to stay at Kaiser. It would help alleviate the Staffing shortage by attracting newer workers.
Kaiser said that the people of Kaiser Permanente have faced down the Pandemic better than most frontline workers.
The country largely moved on from the Pandemic and the promises that were made seemed to have been forgotten. We were back to our old normal where health care workers were unsafe and unappreciated.
Health care workers in the US went on a four-day strike on Sunday over workplace conditions. Six of 19 stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers in 2023 were in health care. The unions said Kaiser Permanente engaged in unfair labour practices, refusing to bargain in good faith to solve the staffing crisis. They added that more people would be incentivised to stay at Kaiser.