Nation's largest health care strike will end with no contract deal

[justaprogressive]

Striking Kaiser Permanente workers and the California-based hospital system neared the end of a three-day walkout Friday — the largest health care strike in U.S. history — without a contract deal.

The two sides last negotiated midday Wednesday and hadn’t scheduled another bargaining session until Oct. 12, Kaiser spokesperson Hilary Costa confirmed Friday. They still remained far apart on wages after those talks, according to the unions, including labor negotiators’ demand for a $25 minimum wage for the X-ray technicians, licensed vocational nurses and other employees they represent.

Employees will begin returning to work Saturday morning across California, Oregon, Colorado and Washington. A few hundred Kaiser workers in Washington, D.C., and Virginia staged a one-day walkout Wednesday.

Most Kaiser facilities are located in California, where the nonprofit company is headquartered and momentum from a summer filled with strikes and worker protests has carried over into the fall. The onslaught of labor action has spread nationally, with United Auto Workers striking at American car manufacturing companies. The health care industry, in particular, has experienced a wave of worker strife fueled by pandemic burnout and related staffing crises.

[link:https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/06/kaiser-health-care-strike-no-contract-deal-00120479|

[MOMFUDSKI]

1. Someone should educate these workers

as to how a strike should be conducted. These are not serious people.

[Duncanpup]

2. Exactly

[musclecar6]

3. Back in the day

I was a labor leader and yes that wasn’t how job actions were conducted. If you went on strike you stayed on strike until things were resolved. Today, I think from evidencing what goes on in other countries like in Europe, I think they go out on one or two day strikes. UAW now is not striking all plants just some plants and then ratcheting up by striking on other plants, so maybe this is a new way of approaching handling companies reluctance to get serious.

[jimfields33]

4. It's how they strike in Europe.

One day, thry mention garbage will not be picked up due to two day strike. I always wondered if they ever got better contracts.