Explainer: Why are Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers on strike?

AMN Healthcare Services

06/10/2023 24:54

(Adds mediation role played by acting U.S. labor secretary,
paragraph 3)
    By Leroy  Leo and Bhanvi Satija
       Oct 5 (Reuters) - About 75,000 medical workers from
Kaiser Permanente facilities went on a planned three-day strike
on Wednesday, putting pressure on one of the leading nonprofit
U.S. healthcare networks to reach an agreement on a new
contract.
    It is the largest walkout ever in the U.S. healthcare
sector, surpassing a 53,000-person strike in 2018. It stems from
staffing shortages plaguing the sector, largely a consequence of
occupational "burnout" from the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su played a role as
mediator in contract talks on the eve of the strike, traveling
to California early on Tuesday and shuttling between the two
sides in an effort to broker a deal before negotiations broke
off on Wednesday, according to a union spokesperson said.
    Here's what you need to know.
    
    WHAT ARE KAISER WORKERS' DEMANDS AND WHAT IS THE COMPANY
OFFERING?
    Some of the key demands by the workers include higher pay to
keep up with the cost of living, a $25-per-hour minimum wage for
all healthcare workers, and a reformed bonus structure. 
    Kaiser has offered across-the-board wage increases of 12.5%
to 16% over four years, but unions call the offer unacceptable
and inadequate to meet the "skyrocketing cost of living".
    
    WHY ARE WORKERS WORRIED ABOUT STAFFING LEVELS?
    More than 5 million U.S. medical workers left their jobs
during the pandemic, causing an acute staffing crunch across the
sector and leaving employees that stayed behind feeling
overworked and underpaid.
    The union insists Kaiser needs to hire 10,000 new healthcare
workers to fill current vacancies, as well as "fix broken hiring
processes" that are preventing full staffing.
    In January, about a third of the nurses in the United States
were considering leaving their profession after the pandemic
left them overwhelmed and fatigued, according to a survey of
over 18,000 nurses conducted by AMN Healthcare Services  AMN.N .
   
    The unions are asking Kaiser Permanente to make massive
investment in the education and training of future healthcare
workers, and for a diminished role for vendors and third-party
contractors that the healthcare network relies on.
       
    HOW WILL THIS NEGOTIATION AFFECT THE SECTOR? 
    Kaiser is one of the largest U.S. medical employers, with
68,000 nurses, 213,000 technicians, clerical workers, and
administrative staff, and its 24,000 doctors. It serves about 13
million people in eight states and the District of Columbia.
    The company's workforce is one of the better paid in the
country, but over the last decade, lower-wage workers have seen
an erosion in their standard of living and purchasing power,
said John August, program director of healthcare labor relations
at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
    "Anything Kaiser does has a massive impact on the market," 
said Russ Richmond, co-founder and CEO of healthcare management
software provider Laudio. "We will see other health systems
receive similar demands from their unions, which will
undoubtedly be on the wage front, but also on job duties."
    
    WILL THERE BE MORE STRIKES?
    Nurses and other medical workers at 11 Tenet Healthcare
 THC.N  facilities across California recently voted to authorize
a strike later this month to spur negotiations around wages and
staffing.
    Last month, more than 500 dialysis caregivers went on strike
at nearly two dozen Satellite Healthcare and Fresenius Kidney
Care clinics across California over unfair labor practices.
    Unions across the United States, including in the media and
automotive industries, have gone on strike for better working
conditions and wages, with 2023 on track to become the busiest
year for strikes since 2019.  
    

 (Reporting by Leroy Leo and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru, Ahmed
Aboulenein in Washington, and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles;
Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Diane Craft)
 ((Leroy.Dsouza@thomsonreuters.com ; https://twitter.com/LeroyLeo7;))