Over 75000 Healthcare Workers In US On Strike Over Wages (image-pixabay)

More than 75000 workers walked off from their duties on Wednesday after failing to resolve a dispute over staffing level and wages. The employees at Kaiser Permanente began one of the largest healthcare strikes in recent US history.

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente has approved strike for three days in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. They have announced last week it would strike if contract negotiations failed with management. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente is an organization representing healthcare workers and support staff for one of the largest not-for-profit medical systems.

The Washington Examiner said that Kaiser is a vertically integrated and member-driven healthcare system that coordinates daily. He also added that the understaffing at Kaiser has made it worse which came as the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and this has resulted in early retirements and burnout among healthcare workers.

The coalition thus have demanded for wage hikes and improved retiree benefits. And as the coalition failed to meet the union deadline for reaching a settlement after new contract negotiations, the workers have decided to strike against the coalition.

However, Kaiser has confirmed that hospitals and emergency departments will remain open through strikes and will be staffed by doctors and managements. But has warned the customers that wait will be longer than usual.

“We are disappointed that some unions have called on employees to participate in labour strikes,” the company announced in a statement posted on its website.

Kaiser Permanente”s strike comes during a year in which the US has seen an unusually high level of industrial action amid rising inflation. While, the labour unions have grown bolder in their demands in the last two years demanding higher wages and better benefit to combat their power due to inflation.

Government data shows 2023 is already the busiest year for strikes overall since 2019, and that could grow in coming days if hospitality workers in Las Vegas elect to take action against casinos, and if auto workers escalate their ongoing strike against Detroit”s big three automakers, reports Reuters.

Kaiser nationwide employs 68,000 nurses and 213,000 technicians, clerical workers, and administrative staff, alongside its 24,000 doctors.