Across California and Oregon, thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses and healthcare workers are threatening to go on strike, alleging issues with pay and difficult working conditions related to the pandemic, according to reporting by The Washington Post.
On Monday, unions announced that they authorized a strike for more than 24,000 workers after a weekend vote.
The main issue workers are arguing against is Kaiser’s proposed two-tiered wage and benefits plan, denying new employees the same wages and benefits as long-standing employees. They’re also seeking increased staffing to alleviate some of the strain caused by the pandemic and 4% raises over the next three years.
Unions across the country might soon follow suit, according to The Washington Post, and similar votes could be imminent in Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, Washington and Washington D.C.
A strike is not necessarily going to happen – unions must give Kaiser 10 days’ notice before any kind of walkout.
Both sides hope to reach an agreement, despite remaining divided on certain points.
Although the pandemic was the catalyst, the issues at hand have always existed in the healthcare industry, according to the unions that led the decision, the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals and Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.
"Our members feel that they’re pivotal stakeholders to how health care is administered and designed at a front-line level. We think it’s valuable work and we think it’s being cut back. We think systems have been shortchanged," said Denise Duncan, president of the California union and a registered nurse, in an interview with The Washington Post.
"There’s increased pressure placed on nurses for what we call the churn. Get the patient in and get the patient out," Duncan said. "We need more hands-on deck."
Kaiser Permanente is "committed to resolving this quickly," company spokesman Marc Brown wrote in an emailed statement to The Washington Post.
"We ask that our employees reject a call to walk away from the patients who need them," said Brown. "Our priority is to continue to provide our members with high-quality, safe care. In the event of any kind of work stoppage, our facilities will be staffed by our physicians along with trained and experienced managers and contingency staff."
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