Oakland, CA – Almost 60,000 healthcare workers who are part of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) announced on Thursday that they have voted to authorize a strike to protest what they consider unfair labor practices by a margin of 98% if no agreement is reached by September 30. This comes on the heels of a 99% yes vote to authorize a strike by SEIU members at Kaiser Permanente in Colorado last week.
This could be the largest healthcare strike in U.S. history, as workers say Kaiser executives refuse to acknowledge the decline in patient service and care and negate the struggle of the workforce to keep up with the high cost of living in areas where Kaiser operates.
“For weeks, Kaiser sent us messages telling us to reject a strike. Their millionaire executives implied we were imagining the delays in care our patients are experiencing and ignored the fact that our families are struggling more and more to keep up with the rising cost of living. Instead, workers are rejecting short staffing and inadequate pay, and we will be going on strike if Kaiser doesn’t stop committing unfair labor practices,” said Miriam De La Paz, a Labor and Delivery Unit Secretary at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Downey, California.
