More workers across industries are going on strike
United Auto Workers members picket during the ongoing UAW strike at the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex on Monday in Toledo, Ohio. Kurt Steiss/The Blade/AP
The multi-state strike comes during a time of elevated labor activity in the United States. Several large-scale strikes have paralyzed companies and entire industries in recent months.
The United Auto Workers are on strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, and it's the first time the union has struck all three simultaneously.
The entertainment industry also contended with dual strikes this summer after Hollywood’s writers’ and actors’ unions went on strike at the same time for the first time since 1960. The leadership of the Writers Guild of America reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios last month, but the actors’ guild strike is ongoing.
SAG-AFTRA actors walk on a picket line outside Netflix studios on September 26 in Los Angeles. Damian Dovarganes/AP
The health care industry has been particularly affected by rising strike activity. Work stoppages among health care workers are elevated compared to 2019 data, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In January, more than 7,000 nurses at two major New York City hospitals went on strike, arguing that immense staffing shortages have led to burnout. Their complaints echo those of Kaiser Permanente’s employees.
Kaiser acknowledged its staffing challenges in a statement but argued the issue has affected health care providers nationwide.
“Every health care provider in the nation has been facing staffing shortages and fighting burnout. During the Great Resignation in 2021-22, more than 5 million people left their health care jobs across the country. Up to two-thirds of health care staff are saying they are burnt out and more than 1 in 5 are quitting,” the company said in a statement. “Kaiser Permanente is not immune from these challenges.”
A coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions representing 75,000 healthcare workers started a three day strike across the United States over a new contract. People are seen holding placards in San Diego, California, on October 4. Mike Blake/Reuters
44 min ago
The coalition of unions and Kaiser Permanente disagree on wage increases
People hold placards, as a coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions representing 75,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente start a three day strike across the United States over a new contract, in San Diego, California, on October 4. Mike Blake/Reuters
Striking employees say staff shortages have left them feeling overworked and burnt out. In a recent statement, Kaiser Permanente said it has agreed to accelerate hiring, setting a goal of hiring 10,000 new people for union-represented jobs by the end of 2023.
The union coalition is demanding higher pay, a strategy by Kaiser Permanente management to tackle chronic staff shortages, protections against outsourcing, and earlier notice when management calls remote workers back to in-person work.
According to an update by the SEIU-UHW, negotiating progress was made before the strike began, though management and the unions are still far apart regarding employee raises.
Kaiser Permanente has offered location-dependent wage increases, with a maximum of 4% for each of the four years of the new contract, according to an October 1 update by SEIU-UHW. The coalition rejected that offer, saying such a raise proposal fails to keep up with the cost of living.
The coalition is asking for an across-the-board 6.5% raise in the first two years of the labor contract and a 5.75% raise in the next two years.
“Workers are really being squeezed right now,” Renee Saldana, a spokesperson for SEIU-UHW, told CNN. “They went through the worst global health crisis in a generation and then they come out and they’re worried about paying rent, they’re worried about losing their house, they’re worried about living in their cars.”
In a statement, Kaiser Permanente said it is a leader in pay.
“We lead total compensation in every market where we operate, and our proposals in bargaining would ensure we keep that position,” a spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente said in a statement.
Kaiser Permanente management and union representatives agreed on some of the union’s demands. For example, Kaiser Permanente agreed to renew outsourcing and subcontracting protections for many workers, and decided on 60-day notice before remote staff are required to return to in-person work, according to SEIU-UHW.
1 hr 19 min ago
A plan to ensure patients continue to receive high-quality care during the strike
Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers striking today in San Diego, California. Mike Blake/Reuters
Kaiser Permanente operates differently from the fee-for-service model of most health care providers in the United States, a system in which a doctor or health care provider is paid a fee for each service performed. Kaiser Permanente “members” pay dues to the organization to gain access to Kaiser Permanente’s wide-ranging health care services.
Though doctors and most registered nurses are not striking, some patient care may be affected by the temporary work stoppage. In a statement, Kaiser Permanente said it has made preparations for the strike, but that patients should expect that some non-emergency and elective services will be rescheduled during the work stoppage “out of an abundance of caution.”
“Our hospitals and emergency departments will remain open. Our facilities will continue to be staffed by our physicians, trained and experienced managers, and staff, and in some cases we will augment with contingent workers,” a Kaiser Permanente spokesperson said.
1 hr 8 min ago
Who is on strike?
People gather in San Diego, California, today, as a coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions representing 75,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente start a three day strike across the United States over a new contract. Mike Blake/Reuters
Many health care employees are picketing, including nursing staff, dietary workers, receptionists, optometrists, and pharmacists. The labor effort comes after the workers’ employment contracts expired at 11:59pm PT on September 30. Negotiations between the union and Kaiser Permanente continued into Tuesday, but the two sides could not agree on a deal by the coalition’s deadline of Wednesday morning.
The strike is temporary. Kaiser Permanente workers will return to work on October 7 at 6am local time in each state currently on strike. However, a “longer, stronger” strike may come in November if a deal between the coalition and Kaiser Permanente is not reached after this strike effort, according to communications from SEIU-UHW, the largest union in the coalition.
39 min ago
Union says Kaiser looking to outsource jobs
From CNN's Chris Isidore
Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers and supporters on a picket line outside Kaiser Permanente medical offices in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Chet Strange/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The coalition of unions representing 75,000 strikers at Kaiser Permanente says that management is threatening the union with outsourcing jobs, and that is the problem in negotiations between the two sides.
"In recent days, Kaiser executives maintaining aggressive threats of outsourcing became a sticking point in negotiations, especially at a time when the company is failing to retain key employees," said the unions in a statement issued shortly after the start of the largest US health care strike in US history.
"Kaiser executives are refusing to listen to us and are bargaining in bad faith over the solutions we need to end the Kaiser short-staffing crisis," said Jessica Cruz, a licensed vocational nurse at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center, in the union's statement.
Kaiser did not immediately respond to the union's complaint. Earlier in the day Wednesday it issued a statement saying both management and the unions are still at the bargaining table, having worked through the night in an effort to reach an agreement.
"We remain committed to reaching a new agreement that continues to provide our employees with market-leading wages, excellent benefits, generous retirement income plans, and valuable professional development opportunities," said the company's statement.
2 hr 24 min ago
Kaiser and the unions are still negotiating during the strike
A Kaiser Permanente health care center is pictured in Anaheim, California, on October 3 as more than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers could go on strike from Oct. 4 to Oct. 7 across the United States. Mike Blake/Reuters
Kaiser Permanente said Wednesday morning that it remains in discussions with a coalition of unions representing striking employees, even as workers walk off the job. The two sides worked through the night in California, the company said.
"There has been a lot of progress, with agreements reached on several specific proposals late Tuesday," the company said in a statement. "We remain committed to reaching a new agreement that continues to provide our employees with market-leading wages, excellent benefits, generous retirement income plans, and valuable professional development opportunities."
2 hr 30 min ago
Where Kaiser workers are on strike
1 hr 49 min ago
Kaiser workers say they're overloaded. Patients say they aren't getting the help they need
From CNN's Natasha Chen
Radiology technologist James Bell during his interview with Natasha Chen in Downey, CA. CNN
James Bell, a radiology technologist, takes X-ray photos of anything from the chest, to intestines, to broken limbs of patients coming through the emergency room.
“We are literally the eyes of medicine,” Bell says. He said the workload varies, with understaffing throughout the system causing them to miss or delay lunch.
This past weekend, Bell says, “we were just so busy with all the people coming to the ER, and the reason for that is largely because patients can't get in to see their primary care physicians in a timely fashion.”
That’s the case for Michael Signorio, who felt the effects of understaffing, when he tried to get help for a torn meniscus in his knee.
“I have another appointment two weeks out and I've already been trying to get into the doctor for the last couple of actually, about the last three weeks. So I've been off work for a little bit now and I'm not liking it, I'm sure work’s not liking it,” Signorio said. When he went to the ER, “I spent 12 hours here. I could have went to County and spent 12 hours. You know, it just didn't sit right. Now, why? Because they're understaffed, they need more people.”
Michael Signorio. CNN
Bell also describes patients getting out of bed after waiting too long for help from the limited number of nurses on duty, resulting in falls. Those patients then have to see him, for X-rays of those injuries.
The understaffing, Bell says, could be remedied by making Kaiser pay and benefits more attractive for prospective workers. His last pay raise was 3% in October 2022. But he points out, gas down the street from the hospital where he works in Downey, CA, now costs $7 per gallon. After having contracted Covid in 2020 at work, Bell says he and his colleagues were hailed as health care heroes. But he says their current working conditions and compensation don’t reflect the same attitude.
2 hr 15 min ago
75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers launch largest health care worker strike in US history
Kaiser Permanente workers picketing this morning in Springfield, Virginia. WUSA
On Wednesday, more than 75,000 unionized employees of Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health providers, walked off the job, marking the largest health care worker strike in US history.
The striking employees, who work across California, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, Oregon and Washington DC, are represented by a coalition of eight unions that comprise 40% of Kaiser Permanente’s total staff.
The unprecedented strike comes at a time of heightened labor activity across the United States, with tens of thousands of workers across multiple industries taking to the picket lines for better pay and benefits. In the wake of pandemic, however, health care workers in particular have been fighting for safer and more secure work environments.
More than 75,000 unionized employees of Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health providers, are walking off the job Wednesday, marking the largest health care worker strike in US history.
The striking employees, who work across California, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, Oregon and Washington DC, are represented by a coalition of eight unions that comprise 40% of Kaiser Permanente’s total staff.
The unprecedented strike comes at a time of heightened labor activity across the United States, with tens of thousands of workers across multiple industries taking to the picket lines for better pay and benefits. In the wake of pandemic, however, health care workers in particular have been fighting for safer and more secure work environments.
United Auto Workers members picket during the ongoing UAW strike at the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex on Monday in Toledo, Ohio. Kurt Steiss/The Blade/AP
The multi-state strike comes during a time of elevated labor activity in the United States. Several large-scale strikes have paralyzed companies and entire industries in recent months.
The United Auto Workers are on strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, and it's the first time the union has struck all three simultaneously.
The entertainment industry also contended with dual strikes this summer after Hollywood’s writers’ and actors’ unions went on strike at the same time for the first time since 1960. The leadership of the Writers Guild of America reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios last month, but the actors’ guild strike is ongoing.
SAG-AFTRA actors walk on a picket line outside Netflix studios on September 26 in Los Angeles. Damian Dovarganes/AP
The health care industry has been particularly affected by rising strike activity. Work stoppages among health care workers are elevated compared to 2019 data, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In January, more than 7,000 nurses at two major New York City hospitals went on strike, arguing that immense staffing shortages have led to burnout. Their complaints echo those of Kaiser Permanente’s employees.
Kaiser acknowledged its staffing challenges in a statement but argued the issue has affected health care providers nationwide.
“Every health care provider in the nation has been facing staffing shortages and fighting burnout. During the Great Resignation in 2021-22, more than 5 million people left their health care jobs across the country. Up to two-thirds of health care staff are saying they are burnt out and more than 1 in 5 are quitting,” the company said in a statement. “Kaiser Permanente is not immune from these challenges.”
A coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions representing 75,000 healthcare workers started a three day strike across the United States over a new contract. People are seen holding placards in San Diego, California, on October 4. Mike Blake/Reuters
People hold placards, as a coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions representing 75,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente start a three day strike across the United States over a new contract, in San Diego, California, on October 4. Mike Blake/Reuters
Striking employees say staff shortages have left them feeling overworked and burnt out. In a recent statement, Kaiser Permanente said it has agreed to accelerate hiring, setting a goal of hiring 10,000 new people for union-represented jobs by the end of 2023.
The union coalition is demanding higher pay, a strategy by Kaiser Permanente management to tackle chronic staff shortages, protections against outsourcing, and earlier notice when management calls remote workers back to in-person work.
According to an update by the SEIU-UHW, negotiating progress was made before the strike began, though management and the unions are still far apart regarding employee raises.
Kaiser Permanente has offered location-dependent wage increases, with a maximum of 4% for each of the four years of the new contract, according to an October 1 update by SEIU-UHW. The coalition rejected that offer, saying such a raise proposal fails to keep up with the cost of living.
The coalition is asking for an across-the-board 6.5% raise in the first two years of the labor contract and a 5.75% raise in the next two years.
“Workers are really being squeezed right now,” Renee Saldana, a spokesperson for SEIU-UHW, told CNN. “They went through the worst global health crisis in a generation and then they come out and they’re worried about paying rent, they’re worried about losing their house, they’re worried about living in their cars.”
In a statement, Kaiser Permanente said it is a leader in pay.
“We lead total compensation in every market where we operate, and our proposals in bargaining would ensure we keep that position,” a spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente said in a statement.
Kaiser Permanente management and union representatives agreed on some of the union’s demands. For example, Kaiser Permanente agreed to renew outsourcing and subcontracting protections for many workers, and decided on 60-day notice before remote staff are required to return to in-person work, according to SEIU-UHW.
Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers striking today in San Diego, California. Mike Blake/Reuters
Kaiser Permanente operates differently from the fee-for-service model of most health care providers in the United States, a system in which a doctor or health care provider is paid a fee for each service performed. Kaiser Permanente “members” pay dues to the organization to gain access to Kaiser Permanente’s wide-ranging health care services.
Though doctors and most registered nurses are not striking, some patient care may be affected by the temporary work stoppage. In a statement, Kaiser Permanente said it has made preparations for the strike, but that patients should expect that some non-emergency and elective services will be rescheduled during the work stoppage “out of an abundance of caution.”
“Our hospitals and emergency departments will remain open. Our facilities will continue to be staffed by our physicians, trained and experienced managers, and staff, and in some cases we will augment with contingent workers,” a Kaiser Permanente spokesperson said.
People gather in San Diego, California, today, as a coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions representing 75,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente start a three day strike across the United States over a new contract. Mike Blake/Reuters
Many health care employees are picketing, including nursing staff, dietary workers, receptionists, optometrists, and pharmacists. The labor effort comes after the workers’ employment contracts expired at 11:59pm PT on September 30. Negotiations between the union and Kaiser Permanente continued into Tuesday, but the two sides could not agree on a deal by the coalition’s deadline of Wednesday morning.
The strike is temporary. Kaiser Permanente workers will return to work on October 7 at 6am local time in each state currently on strike. However, a “longer, stronger” strike may come in November if a deal between the coalition and Kaiser Permanente is not reached after this strike effort, according to communications from SEIU-UHW, the largest union in the coalition.
Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers and supporters on a picket line outside Kaiser Permanente medical offices in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Chet Strange/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The coalition of unions representing 75,000 strikers at Kaiser Permanente says that management is threatening the union with outsourcing jobs, and that is the problem in negotiations between the two sides.
"In recent days, Kaiser executives maintaining aggressive threats of outsourcing became a sticking point in negotiations, especially at a time when the company is failing to retain key employees," said the unions in a statement issued shortly after the start of the largest US health care strike in US history.
"Kaiser executives are refusing to listen to us and are bargaining in bad faith over the solutions we need to end the Kaiser short-staffing crisis," said Jessica Cruz, a licensed vocational nurse at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center, in the union's statement.
Kaiser did not immediately respond to the union's complaint. Earlier in the day Wednesday it issued a statement saying both management and the unions are still at the bargaining table, having worked through the night in an effort to reach an agreement.
"We remain committed to reaching a new agreement that continues to provide our employees with market-leading wages, excellent benefits, generous retirement income plans, and valuable professional development opportunities," said the company's statement.
A Kaiser Permanente health care center is pictured in Anaheim, California, on October 3 as more than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers could go on strike from Oct. 4 to Oct. 7 across the United States. Mike Blake/Reuters
Kaiser Permanente said Wednesday morning that it remains in discussions with a coalition of unions representing striking employees, even as workers walk off the job. The two sides worked through the night in California, the company said.
"There has been a lot of progress, with agreements reached on several specific proposals late Tuesday," the company said in a statement. "We remain committed to reaching a new agreement that continues to provide our employees with market-leading wages, excellent benefits, generous retirement income plans, and valuable professional development opportunities."
Radiology technologist James Bell during his interview with Natasha Chen in Downey, CA. CNN
James Bell, a radiology technologist, takes X-ray photos of anything from the chest, to intestines, to broken limbs of patients coming through the emergency room.
“We are literally the eyes of medicine,” Bell says. He said the workload varies, with understaffing throughout the system causing them to miss or delay lunch.
This past weekend, Bell says, “we were just so busy with all the people coming to the ER, and the reason for that is largely because patients can't get in to see their primary care physicians in a timely fashion.”
That’s the case for Michael Signorio, who felt the effects of understaffing, when he tried to get help for a torn meniscus in his knee.
“I have another appointment two weeks out and I've already been trying to get into the doctor for the last couple of actually, about the last three weeks. So I've been off work for a little bit now and I'm not liking it, I'm sure work’s not liking it,” Signorio said. When he went to the ER, “I spent 12 hours here. I could have went to County and spent 12 hours. You know, it just didn't sit right. Now, why? Because they're understaffed, they need more people.”
Michael Signorio. CNN
Bell also describes patients getting out of bed after waiting too long for help from the limited number of nurses on duty, resulting in falls. Those patients then have to see him, for X-rays of those injuries.
The understaffing, Bell says, could be remedied by making Kaiser pay and benefits more attractive for prospective workers. His last pay raise was 3% in October 2022. But he points out, gas down the street from the hospital where he works in Downey, CA, now costs $7 per gallon. After having contracted Covid in 2020 at work, Bell says he and his colleagues were hailed as health care heroes. But he says their current working conditions and compensation don’t reflect the same attitude.
Kaiser Permanente workers picketing this morning in Springfield, Virginia. WUSA
On Wednesday, more than 75,000 unionized employees of Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health providers, walked off the job, marking the largest health care worker strike in US history.
The striking employees, who work across California, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, Oregon and Washington DC, are represented by a coalition of eight unions that comprise 40% of Kaiser Permanente’s total staff.
The unprecedented strike comes at a time of heightened labor activity across the United States, with tens of thousands of workers across multiple industries taking to the picket lines for better pay and benefits. In the wake of pandemic, however, health care workers in particular have been fighting for safer and more secure work environments.
