This industry remains challenged by the rinse-and-repeat strike cycle set in motion by healthcare worker unions, which are all too aware that they hold plenty of cards amid ongoing hospital and clinic shortages. Here are some recent updates:
- At California’s Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital, 400 workers launched a five-day strike to demand higher pay and better work schedules.
- At Michigan’s Ascension Borgess Hospital, healthcare workers voted to authorize a strike by hundredsof nurses. Negotiations continue between the hospital and union, which represents around 13,000 healthcare workers statewide.
- The Hawaiian leg of the Kaiser mental healthcare worker strike stretched to the five-week mark to detrimental effect. The National Union of Healthcare Workers dragged out this walkout for so long that Kaiser members now have clearance to jump ship for a different health insurance plan.
In the background of this ongoing turmoil, OSHA established a permanent Covid-19 standard, which still must undergo regulatory review but will set up more requirements for employers to shield healthcare workers from the virus.
