Massive Strike Targets US Hospitals: Here’s What It Means

What does this mean for your health care?

Kaiser Permanente workers carry protest signs outside the hospital during a strike in the Panorama City section of Los Angeles on Oct. 4, 2023. Richard Vogel/AP Photo

More than 75,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente went on strike Wednesday morning at hospitals and other offices in several states after the labor union and company failed to come up with an agreement.

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, representing about 85,000 of the health system’s employees nationally, approved a strike for three days in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, and for one day in Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Kaiser Permanente is one of the country’s largest insurers and health care system operators, with 39 hospitals nationwide. The nonprofit company, based in Oakland, California, provides health coverage for nearly 13 million people, sending customers to clinics and hospitals it runs or contracts with to provide care.

The union described the action as “the largest healthcare worker strike in U.S. history,” claiming that it would “be the initial demonstration of our strength to Kaiser that we will not stand for their unfair labor practices.”

Where?

The strikes are occurring at Kaiser hospitals and medical facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, and for one day in Virginia and Washington, D.C. A significant number of the workers, or about 68,000, are located in California, according to reports.

How Long?

The union said that the strike will start Oct. 4 at 6 a.m. until Oct. 7 at 6 a.m.

Will Hospitals Operate?

Kaiser has said that its medical facilities and hospitals serve about 13 million people across the United States.

Doctors and registered nurses are not on strike, but some patient care could be impacted due to the three-day work stoppage. The firm said in a statement that it has made contingency plans for the strike, adding that some non-emergency and elective services will be pushed back to a later date for some patients.

“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 told news outlets this week.

Kaiser Permanente workers carry a sign outside the hospital during a protest strike in the Panorama City section of Los Angeles on Oct. 4, 2023. Richard Vogel/AP Photo

What’s the Problem?

Unions representing the Kaiser workers in August asked for a $25 hourly minimum wage, as well as increases of 7 percent each year in the first two years and 6.25 percent each year in the two years afterward. Meanwhile, they say understaffing is boosting the hospital system’s profits but hurting patients, and executives have been bargaining in bad faith during negotiations.

“They’re not listening to the frontline health care workers,” said Mikki Fletchall, a licensed vocational nurse based in a Kaiser medical office in Camarillo, California. “We’re striking because of our patients. We don’t want to have to do it, but we will do it.”

And Caroline Lucas, the executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, told CNBC that the alleged staffing crisis has led to unsafe working conditions. Patient care has also suffered, she said.

“We continue to have front-line health care workers who are burnt out and stretched to the max and leaving the industry,” she told the outlet. “We have folks getting injured on the job because they’re trying to do too much and see too many people and work too quickly. It’s not a sustainable situation.”

The collective bargaining agreement for the unionized employees expired Sept. 30 without a new agreement intact.

Kaiser’s Response

Kaiser has proposed minimum hourly wages of between $21 and $23 next year depending on the location.

Kaiser executive Michelle Gaskill-Hames has defended her company, saying that compensation, employee retention, and its business practices are similar to or better than its competitors.

“Our focus, for the dollars that we bring in, are to keep them invested in value-based care,” she said, reported The Associated Press. Kaiser, she said, only faces a 7 percent turnover rate, while the rest of the industry faces a 21 percent rate.

“I think coming out of the pandemic, health care workers have been completely burned out,” Ms. Gaskill-Hames said. “The trauma that was felt caring for so many COVID patients, and patients that died, was just difficult.”

In a separate statement, the hospital system acknowledged there are challenges but added that they have also impacted other hospital systems.

“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 firm in a statement. “Kaiser Permanente is not immune from these challenges.”

Other Strikes

At the same time, more than 25,000 members of the United Auto Workers union remain on strike against General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford. Earlier this year, Hollywood writers staged a lengthy walkout against studios that came to an end several days ago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.