The largest healthcare strike in American history, which lasted three days without a contract agreement, was about to come to an end on Friday for striking Kaiser Permanente employees and the California-based hospital system.
A representative for Kaiser, Hilary Costa, said on Friday that the two sides had not planned another negotiation session until midday on October 12. After those negotiations, according to the unions, they were still far apart on salaries, with labor negotiators demanding a $25 minimum salary for the X-ray engineers, licensed vocational nurses, and other workers they represent.
In a statement, the union representatives claimed that outsourcing of crucial healthcare tasks has emerged as a major negotiating obstacle recently because Kaiser managers have refused to impose restrictions on contracting and the outsourcing process, which keep skilled healthcare workers in their jobs and guarantee strong consistency of care for patients.
After a record three-day walkout, over 75,000 unified Kaiser Permanente workers are going back to work. However, a bigger and longer work stoppage might be on the horizon.
If an agreement is not struck, strikes may resume later, according to a representative for the coalition of unions that represent a wide range of Kaiser Permanente workers, including receptionists, dietary staff, nurses, pharmacists, and clinical lab scientists. The union informed CNN that talks will get back up on Thursday.
Since Kaiser’s nonprofit organization is headquartered in California, the majority of its facilities are there as well. The momentum from the summer’s wave of worker and strike demonstrations has continued into the fall. Nationwide strikes by the United Auto Workers against American auto manufacturers have sparked a wave of labor unrest. Particularly in the healthcare sector, a surge of employee unrest has been brought on by epidemic burnout and associated staffing issues.
According to the corporate website, over fifty percent of Kaiser’s 106 labs in Southern California shut down on Friday. Nearly 24 Kaiser medical offices in Oregon and Washington were also shut down, while 11 additional facilities that were still running had temporarily closed down a number of departments. Kaiser advised patients to do virtual visits instead of physically visiting offices and to use mail-order pharmacy services rather than picking up medicines in person.
When he visited United Auto Workers members who were on strike in Michigan last week, Biden made history by becoming the first standing president to join a picket line.
The coalition of unions said it might give a 10-day warning after Saturday that could lead to another round of strikes in a few weeks if Kaiser executives keep up with unjust labor practices and bargain in bad faith. However, the unions and Kaiser have scheduled negotiations for the end of next week.
Officials from the union said on Wednesday that although they had tentatively agreed on some benefits-related problems, there were still some concerns that needed to be resolved. On Friday, Costa opted not to comment on the specifics of the talks.
Specialists and registered nurses continued to work throughout the work freeze, keeping hospitals and clinics operational, though some services may have been delayed. On Saturday, the first workers to report back to work will begin their shifts at 6 a.m.
A sea of demonstrators wearing purple and yellow had packed streets and averages in San Francisco on Wednesday, shouting and rattling tambourines. Timothy Regan, a medical health instructor for 25 years, was one of them.
In order to ensure that the future generation will have advantageous working conditions, Mr. Regan stated that we want that cooperative, good-faith collaboration and we needed it months ago. We are all genuinely astonished that it has come to this.
A Mom Worried About Her Cancer-Stricken Son During The Kaiser Strike
As a result of the strike, one mother claims she worried about taking care of her youngster.
Kendall Koffel, who is in the hospital, has issues swallowing due to the tumor and should only eat soft foods, according to his mother Carol Koffel. Kendall also has a huge tumor in his left chest that is causing him breathing difficulties.
Koffel recalled that they brought her son a bagel, two scoops of tuna fish, and salad for the first meal Kaiser brought him, which he was unable to consume.
Kendall’s treatment coincides with a nationwide strike of Kaiser Permanente employees during the same week; Koffell claims she was just concerned about her son’s nutrition.
Also Read: 75000 Kaiser Employees and Other Staff Are on Strike
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