Unionized staff want raises and a fix for labor shortages “The reality is it’s extremely disruptive.” From the outside looking in, it’s easy to say that it’s not going to be that disruptive,” he said. “Managers are still going to be there, the doctors are still going to be there. Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times/Getty Imagesīut August said patients would likely feel the effects of the work stoppage. to call for improved working conditions, better support systems and increased investment in the healthcare workforce at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center in Hollywood on Monday, Sept. Thousands of healthcare workers march down W Sunset Blvd. “We take any threat to disrupt care for our members seriously and have plans in place to ensure we can continue to provide high-quality care should a strike actually occur next week.” The best place to reach an agreement is at the bargaining table,” the spokesperson said. “Given the progress being made in national bargaining over the weekend and Monday, there is no reason to strike. In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente said they “have plans in place” in the event a strike happens next week, but urged their employees to reject a strike. Patients may feel the effects of a strike The coalition represents about 40% of the overall Kaiser Permanente workforce. SEIU-UHW is part of a coalition of eight unions that plan to strike. Most of the unionized staff are part of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West union (SEIU-UHW), which represents a wide range of hospital workers, including nursing staff, EMTs, respiratory care practitioners and many others who help support hospital operations. Not all Kaiser Permanente staff will walk off the job next week, though. It would also be the first-ever national strike effort at Kaiser Permanente, according to John August, the director for health care labor relations at Cornell and the former executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. The strike would be the largest US health care strike in history, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kaiser Permanente has 12.7 million members and operates 39 hospitals and 622 medical offices, according to its website. Patients pay for a membership and gain access to Kaiser Permanente’s health care services. Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health providers. More than 75,000 health care employees who work at hundreds of Kaiser Permanente facilities across California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Virginia, and Washington DC plan to strike from October 4 through October 7 if a labor deal is not successfully negotiated by the workers’ contract deadline: 11:59 pm Pacific Time on September 30. This would be the largest ever health care strike in the US Here are five things to know about the potential strike: Imaging workers at Kaiser have also joined that strike, and are expected to remain on the picket lines through mid-November.Tens of thousands of unionized health care workers are set to walk off the job starting Wednesday if contract negotiations with their employer, Kaiser Permanente, fall through this weekend. The company said it expects that strike could last through Nov. Some pharmacy workers organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 remain on strike, and Kaiser has provided regular updates on pharmacies that have closed as a result. The deal does not resolve two other ongoing labor disputes at Kaiser facilities in Oregon. The coalition thanked the Biden administration for supporting Kaiser workers and helping them reach a deal. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions that organized the strike said 98.5% of workers voted to approve the contract. Those workers returned to the job within days of the strike beginning, and a tentative deal was reached Oct. The strike led to notable disruptions in service at Kaiser facilities, as some medical and dental offices had to close. Kaiser employees in Oregon who joined the strike included service and clerical workers, certified nursing assistants, food service workers, housekeeping staff, schedulers and others, through SEIU Local 49. “This is more than a contract - it signals a new day for frontline health care workers and for patient safety across Kaiser facilities,” Angelica Mateo, a licensed vocational nurse at Kaiser in Los Angeles, said in a statement.
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