Thousands of US health care workers go on strike in multiple states over wages and staff shortages

Kaiser Permanente workers carry protest signs outside the hospital during a strike in the Panorama City section of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. Picketing has begun at Kaiser Permanente hospitals as some 75,000 workers who say understaffing is hurting patient care go on strike in five states and the District of Columbia. It marks the latest major labor unrest in the U.S. Kaiser Permanente is one of the country's larger insurers and health care system operators.

The strikers include licensed vocational nurses, home health aides and ultrasound sonographers, as well as technicians in radiology, X-ray, surgical, pharmacy and emergency departments. Unions representing Kaiser workers in August asked for a $25 hourly minimum wage, as well as increases of 7% each year in the first two years and 6.25% each year in the two years afterward.

Since 2022, the hospital system has hired 51,000 workers and has plans to add 10,000 more people by the end of the month. She added that Kaiser only faces 7% turnover compared to the industry standard of 21%, despite the effects of the pandemic.

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