75,000 Kaiser Permanente Workers , Begin Largest Health Care Strike in US.
The three-day strike began
on Oct. 4, 'The Guardian' reports.
The workers are seeking new union contracts since their current ones lapsed on Oct. 1.
They want better wages
and staffing, 'The Guardian' reports.
Kaiser Permanente locations in California, Colorado, D.C., Oregon, Virginia and Washington have been affected.
Unions cited the health care provider's
$3 billion profit in the first half of the year.
They also pointed to
executives' excessive salaries.
Record profits should mean record
contracts that invest in workers
and the patients we serve, Dawn Martin, a medical assistant in
Battle Ground, Washington, via statement.
Kaiser executives are refusing to listen to
frontline healthcare workers like me and are
bargaining in bad faith over the solutions we
need to end the Kaiser short-staffing crisis, Dawn Martin, a medical assistant in
Battle Ground, Washington, via statement.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions
said that over the summer, the health care provider said that its workers "make too much money"
while its CEO is paid $16 million per year.
Workers across race and background are
taking on Kaiser, saying it’s time to bargain
in good faith and respect us, protect us and
pay us the living wages we need to thrive. , Mary Kay Henry, international president of the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU), via statement.
They’re demanding what’s necessary for patients to get the quality care they need and deserve, Mary Kay Henry, international president of the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU), via statement.
They are burnt out, scared for their
patients and fed up. It’s time for Kaiser
to act with the urgency this staffing
crisis demands and to settle a fair contract
that includes long-term solutions to the
crisis like livable wages and benefits, Mary Kay Henry, international president of the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU), via statement