Thousands of US health care workers go on strike in multiple states over wages and staff shortages
Picketing has begun at Kaiser Permanente hospitals as some 75,000 workers who say understaffing is hurting patient care go on strike in five states and the District of Columbia
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Picketing began Wednesday morning at Kaiser Permanente hospitals as some 75,000 healthcare workers went on strike in Virginia, California and three other states over wages and staffing shortages, marking the latest major labor unrest in the United States.
Kaiser Permanente is one of the country’s larger insurers and healthcare system operators, with 39 hospitals nationwide. The non-profit company, based in Oakland, California, provides health coverage for nearly 13 million people, sending customers to clinics and hospitals it runs or contracts with to provide care.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, representing about 85,000 of the health system's employees nationally, approved a strike for three days in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, and for one day in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The strikers include licensed vocational nurses, home health aides and ultrasound sonographers, as well as technicians in radiology, X-ray, surgical, pharmacy and emergency departments.
