The media would love to make “Striketober” happen in all industries when, really, the press tends to focus on a few high-profile events to paint a picture. Yet if we’re talking about the healthcare industry (and we are), then we’re dealing with a different beast than the rest of the labor world. When it comes to hospitals and mental health services, a deluge of 2022 strikes is not only reality but remains a looming threat, one that persists with higher stakes (one cannot power down an ER or other essential services) than when workers in the retail or food service industries head to the picket lines.
That makes for an interesting comparison: a Boston-focused publication recently did some leg work to find out how striking Starbucks workers fared after two months. Our own Phil Wilson contributed analysis amid the report’s findings, which ultimately revealed how 60+ days of round-the-clock striking led to little benefit for the workers. They took home 70% of their usual pay rate via a local labor council and exited strike mode with no negotiations or changes to their working conditions. Will this outcome lead to fewer Starbucks or grocery-store strikes going forward? Only time will tell.
However, strikes in the healthcare field can yield more tangible results, so one can expect unions to take further advantage of workers’ frustrations in this industry. Becker’s Hospital Review rounded up 14 significant strikes that happened (and some are still in process) this year. Nearly every incident has plenty to do with staffing shortages while healthcare workloads stay the same or grow even greater. The industry still sits in a tough spot, so let’s round up the healthcare strife:
- Kaiser’s long-term woes show no sign of slowing down. As we previously discussed, one of the U.S.’ largest healthcare employers continues to grapple with mental healthcare worker strikes in California and (to a lesser degree) Hawaii. California regulators continue to investigate patient complaints about appointment unavailability, and the state’s Kaiser strike now enters the seventh week. Talks broke down with Kaiser and National Union of Health Care Workers continuing to clash on issues of scheduling, staffing, and pay.
- Minnesota’s healthcare troubles continue to boil over. 400 mental health workers (who joined SEIU in late 2021) threatened a three-day strike that M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center ducked at the last hour when workers called off the strike. The facility and the union have since reached a tentative contract. However, mental health workers at Allina Health’s Abbott Northwestern Hospital went on strike as planned this week. Both developments follow a historic strike by 15,000 members of the Minnesota Nurses Association, who walked off the job for three days in mid-September before the hospital and union agreed to head back to the bargaining table.
- In Fresno, California, nurses went on a one-day strike at Sunnyside Convalescent Hospital. They vowed to strike indefinitely unless the facility’s owner agrees to address workers’ concerns on staffing and funding issues.
- University of Michigan Health agreed to a $273 million, four-year contract with the nurses represented by the University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council. Those nurses walked away with bonuses and significant raises, results that can be attributed to the tight labor market for healthcare workers.
- In Seattle, Washington, a similar situation at Swedish Health Services led to raises for 7,000+ workers represented by the SEIU.
- In Texas, Ascension Seton Medical Center nurses became the state’s biggest private-sector healthcare facility to unionize while citing safety and staffing shortages as their main concerns. No strike news surfaced there (yet).
Not every healthcare workplace happens to be in the same boat. Near Sacramento, nurses at the Pine Creek Care Center ousted the Teamsters in a decertification vote. This news comes after the nurses declared that they were “forced” to accept the Teamsters as their representatives and to pay dues to maintain their employment. Not too far away in Monterey, Cypress Ridge Care Center nurses also recently voted to boot the SEIU after it failed to deliver upon promised results.
