Largest Healthcare Strike in US History
SAN DIEGO, California – In a monumental demonstration, over 75,000 healthcare professionals employed by Kaiser Permanente launched a three-day strike on Wednesday, marking the largest such protest in the annals of US healthcare labor movements.
These dedicated workers, represented by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, have taken to the streets as their union contracts expired on October 1. Central to their demands are substantial wage increases and critical enhancements to alleviate severe understaffing issues that have plagued healthcare facilities, a crisis that has deepened during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The strike has had a profound impact on the operations of this non-profit private healthcare provider, spanning across California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Virginia, and Washington DC.
Unions have drawn attention to Kaiser Permanente’s staggering profits, which reached a staggering $3 billion in the first half of 2023. They have also decried the excessive salaries of executives within the organization.
Dawn Martin, a medical assistant hailing from Battle Ground, Washington, remarked, “Record profits should translate into record contracts that invest in workers and the patients we serve. Kaiser executives have chosen to disregard frontline healthcare workers like myself and are engaged in bad faith negotiations that fail to address the Kaiser staffing crisis.”
During the summer’s bargaining session, the coalition revealed that Kaiser Permanente asserted its workers at the non-profit organization “earned too much,” even as the CEO enjoys a salary of $16 million annually.
Mary Kay Henry, international president of the 2 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing a significant portion of these workers, emphasized, “Workers from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities are taking a stand against Kaiser, demanding that the organization negotiate in good faith, respect, protect, and provide living wages that empower us to thrive. They are advocating for the measures necessary to ensure patients receive the high-quality care they both need and deserve.”
She added, “These workers are fatigued, deeply concerned for their patients, and have reached the limit of their patience. It is high time for Kaiser to act with the urgency demanded by this staffing crisis, and to reach an equitable contract that incorporates sustainable solutions to this crisis, including livable wages and benefits.”
Kaiser Permanente has asserted that they have been actively addressing the staffing predicaments that have affected the entire healthcare industry, and they claim to offer wages exceeding market rates.
This historic strike underscores the growing frustration among healthcare workers and the pressing need for substantive change within the industry.
