Picketing began early Wednesday at Kaiser Permanente hospitals as tens of thousands of healthcare workers went on strike in California and three other states over wages and staffing shortages, marking the latest major labor unrest in the nation.
A Kaiser representative said both Kaiser management and coalition union representatives were still at the bargaining table this morning, “having worked through the night in an effort to reach an agreement.”
“There has been a lot of progress, with agreements reached on several specific proposals late Tuesday,” the Kaiser statement says. “We remain committed to reaching a new agreement…”
Pickets launched at 6 a.m. at hospitals around Southern California. At Woodland Hills Medical Center, more than 400 picketers gathered at the complex’s entrances. carrying signs that said “Kaiser: Put Patients First.”
At Kaiser’s Downey facility, nearly 100 people gathered at dawn, chanting and marching around the complex. By 7 a.m. more than 500 picketers lined Imperial Highway outside the medical center.
Hundreds more lined the streets outside the streets leading into the Kaiser South Bay Medical Center, toting signs that said “Kaiser Workers Won’t Be Silenced.”
“We need to end the Kaiser short-staffing crisis,” said Jessica Cruz, a licensed vocational nurse at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center. “I see my patients’ frustrations when I have to rush them and hurry on to my next patient. That’s not the care I want to give. We’re burning ourselves out trying to do the jobs of two or three people, and our patients suffer when they can’t get the care they need due to Kaiser’s short-staffing.”.
More than 400 employees on #strike at #kaiser in Woodland Hills pic.twitter.com/n5xIwVvc4Y
— dean musgrove (@deanmusgrove) October 4, 2023
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