Picketing began Wednesday morning at Kaiser Permanente hospitals as approximately 75,000 healthcare workers initiated a strike in Virginia, California, and three other states. The strike is driven by concerns over wages and staffing shortages, making it the latest significant labor unrest in the United States. Kaiser Permanente, a nonprofit company based in Oakland, California, is one of the nation’s leading insurers and healthcare system operators, with 39 hospitals across the country. They provide health coverage for nearly 13 million people, offering care through their own clinics and hospitals as well as contracted facilities. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which represents around 85,000 of the health system’s employees nationwide, has approved a three-day strike in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, and a one-day strike in Virginia and Washington, DC.
The strikers consist of licensed vocational nurses, home health aides, ultrasound sonographers, as well as technicians in radiology, X-ray, surgical, pharmacy, and emergency departments. The strike does not include doctors, and Kaiser has assured that its hospitals will remain open, including emergency rooms, during the picketing. The company has enlisted thousands of temporary workers to fill in during the strike, although there may be delays in appointments and non-urgent procedures due to the circumstances. This labor unrest occurs at a time of widespread worker organizing in various industries, such as hospitality, transportation, and entertainment. The healthcare industry has already experienced multiple strikes this year, fueled by burnout and increased workloads, which have been further exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic.
In August, unions representing Kaiser workers proposed a $25 hourly minimum wage and annual increases of 7% for the first two years, followed by 6.25% in the subsequent two years. They argue that understaffing is boosting the hospital system’s profits at the expense of patient care, and that executives have not negotiated in good faith. “They’re not listening to the front-line healthcare workers,” says Mikki Fletchall, a licensed vocational nurse at a Kaiser medical office in Camarillo, California. “We’re striking because of our patients.” Kaiser’s proposed minimum hourly wages for next year range between $21 and $23, depending on the location. The company reported a net income of $2.1 billion for the second quarter of this year, with operating revenue exceeding $25 billion.
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Despite its financial success, Kaiser acknowledges challenges from cost headwinds, inflation, and labor shortages. Michelle Gaskill-Hames, a Kaiser executive, defends the company, asserting that their practices, compensation, and employee retention are superior to competitors. “Our focus, with the funds we receive, is to invest in value-based care,” says Gaskill-Hames, president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals of Southern California and Hawaii. She also highlights that Kaiser’s turnover rate is only 7%, compared to the industry average of 21%. The workers’ latest contract was negotiated in 2019, prior to the impact of COVID-19. Hospitals in general have been grappling with high labor costs, staffing shortages, and increased levels of uncompensated care in recent years, according to Rick Gundling of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, a nonprofit organization that collaborates with healthcare finance executives.
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