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"White shirts" on strike/ Over 75,000 workers in the US are protesting

2023-10-05 07:39:00, Kosova & Bota CNA
"White shirts" on strike/ Over 75,000 workers in the US are protesting
Illustrative photo

More than 75,000 white-collar workers at Kaiser Permanente have gone on strike, marking the largest health worker walkout in US history.

The three-day work stoppage involves nurses, pharmacists and lab technicians in five US states and Washington DC.

Nearly 13 million patients could be affected by the strike, which follows stalled contract negotiations between unions and Kaiser Permanente.

Hospitals and emergency rooms will remain open throughout the strike.

A previous labor agreement between the eight unions in the coalition and the company expired on September 30.

Through the strike, the Kaiser Permanente Coalition of Unions hopes to pressure the California-based company to address staffing shortages that began during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, as well as better wages.

In a statement Wednesday, Kaiser Permanente said it had made "substantial progress" in discussions with the union overnight and "remained committed to reaching a new agreement."

The biggest impact of the strike will be felt in California, Oregon, Colorado and Washington state, where hundreds of paramedics will strike for three days.

While Kaiser Permanente has said hospitals and emergency departments will continue to operate — partially staffed.

In Virginia and Washington DC, a smaller total of about 400 pharmacists and optometrists planned to stop work for the day. Kaiser Permanente has expanded its pharmacy network to ensure access to drugs if outpatient pharmacies are closed during strike action.

Unions have repeatedly pointed to Kaiser Permanente's profits - which totaled around $3bn (£2.47bn) in the first half of this year - as a sign that contracts need to be renegotiated. In a July statement, the coalition also claimed the firm's CEO earns $16m (£13.18m) a year, with 49 executives earning over $1m (£820,000).

Statistics from the US Bureau of Labor show that more than 309,000 workers went on strike until August of this year alone./ CNA





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