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Kaiser Health Worker Strike Ends As Talks Continue
Union members picket outside the Kaiser hospital in Baldwin Park on Oct. 4, 2023.
(
Jackie Fortiér
/
LAist
)
Topline:
The massive three-day walkout of 75,000 Kaiser health workers in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Virginia and Washington D.C. started Oct. 4. About 80 percent of them were in California. The strike ends early Saturday morning.
Who was on strike? In Southern California, more than 28,000 medical assistants, nurses, surgical technicians, phlebotomists, pharmacy technicians, respiratory therapists, X-ray technicians and ultrasound sonographers among other unionized health workers walked out for three days — that’s about 34% of Kaiser’s Southern California workforce.
Why now: The last contract expired Sept. 30. In-person talks resume next week, but if a deal can’t be reached, union leaders say another strike could take place.
The backstory: Union leaders want a $25-an-hour minimum wage across the company. Kaiser executives agree there should be an organization-wide minimum, but they’ve proposed $21, and $23 in California. The unions also say chronic understaffing puts patients at risk, which Kaiser denies.
What about Kaiser patients? Kaiser Permanente closed a number of labs during the strike, while hospitals, emergency departments and pharmacies remained open. Kaiser told LAist some scheduled appointments were switched to video or phone calls and “most routine surgeries were not rescheduled.”
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