On Strike: COVID’s Toll on the Healthcare Industry

The <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/04/business/thousands-of-kaiser-permanente-workers-go-on-strike/index.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">strikes </a>were kickstarted on Oct. 4 when about 75,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers walked off the job, starting a three-day, nationwide strike that is being recognized as the largest health care worker strike in the United States. Union coalitions and strikers are urging Kaiser Permanente to increase wages and combat understaffing–which has remained an issue since the pandemic’s early days. They are also demanding Kaiser Permanente to notify remote staff when to report to in-person work at an earlier time, and discontinue outsourcing. To meet demands, the company agreed to a four percent wage increase on Oct. 1, which was shut down by workers and unions as it does not supplement living costs. Instead, strikers are advocating for a pay increase of 6.5 percent, with a 5.75 percent increase following the first two years of the labor contract. <a href="https://medium.com/the-quaker-campus/on-strike-covids-toll-on-the-healthcare-industry-ac01e3e2dc70">Learn More</a>