Tens of thousands of health care workers at Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest health care providers in the U.S., are preparing to go on strike due to severe understaffing issues that have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers are experiencing delays in patient care and are demanding higher pay, better benefits, and increased staffing levels to improve patient outcomes. Click here for podcast.
Seventy-five thousand workers across hundreds of Kaiser hospitals, clinics, and medical offices from California to Washington, D.C., could participate in what would be the largest health care strike in U.S. history.
The strike is driven by concerns over understaffing, with 11% of union positions vacant as of April, exacerbated by a surge in patient demand for delayed routine care and the departure of health care workers during the pandemic.
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