It’s no secret that Kaiser Permanente has been ailing in the labor realm. The managed healthcare consortium’s well-publicized 2022 woes initially included the longest U.S. strike by mental health staffers. After ten weeks, that California walkout ended with no meaningful results and a deal that failed to solve core grievances for 2000+ workers. A concurrent strike by Hawaii mental health workers lasted even longer: 172 days.
One can go round and round looking for a singular cause for Kaiser’s woes, which appear to be a more amplified version of pandemic pain that plagues the entire industry. Staffing shortages and budget shortfalls fester, and an aging U.S. population needing increased care doesn’t help matters. Last year’s strikes continued so long that Kaiser members were approved to jump ship for a different insurance plan.
Subsequently, Kaiser averted a strike by 21,000 nurses in California with a contract that included 22.5% raises over four years. Fast forward to 2023, and it’s 2022 all over again:
- Kaiser workers picketed last week at over 40 facilities in California amid contract talks that began in April ahead of a Sept. 30 contract expiration date. Workers pointed toward a staffing crisis and continued lengthy patient appointment wait times.
- Picket lines further materialized in Colorado, Washington, and Oregon under the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, representing up to 85,000 frontline workers across seven states and D.C.
- Kaiser responded to these strikes by accusing the unions of an “attempt to create bargaining leverage.” The consortium also issued a statement about existing “premium” wages for its nurses, who earn up to 10% over local market rates. Thus far, Kaiser has agreed to hire 10,000 more workers before the end of 2023.
More healthcare updates of interest:
In Chicago, three safety-net hospitals (including Loretto Hospital) saw hundreds of workers rally this month outside each facility. And on July 31, 200 Loretto workers formally began to strike. This includes nurses, ER techs, respiratory therapists, and more.
The Ascension hospital network continues to see labor upheavals in Austin, TX, and Wichita, KS, with nursing unions delivering petitions to management following June strikes. In Wichita, management stressed that “recruitment remains an everyday initiative” and “as of mid-July, a record-setting 141 May 2023 graduate nurses had accepted full-time positions.”
Elsewhere: Nurses rallied at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in CA after staffing shortages shut down an ICU for over a month; at St. Mary Medical Center in CA, 370 nurses have quit their jobs since 2021; at Trinity Grand Haven Hospital in MI, workers are prepping for a one-day strike on Aug. 4.
A side note in conclusion: In conflict at several of the above facilities, unions are arguing that an actual “nursing shortage” does not exist, although it’s clear that the entire healthcare industry would love to find solutions to what does seem to be a nursing shortage. A recent study found that nursing could see a further exodus of one in three nurses leaving the profession in the coming years. No relief is on the horizon yet, so buckle up.
