2023-10-04 10:54:17
PABLO SCARPELLINI
los angeles
Updated Wednesday, October 4, 2023 – 10:54
The lack of agreement between the unions and Kaiser Permanente, one of the giants of the industry, would condition medical care in five states: California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Virginia
The Bronx, NY, USA. January 9, 2023: Nurses at Montefiore Medical Center went on strike for safe staffingLUIGI MORRISShutterstock
The inflacin by the clouds of recent months has turned USA in a union warehouse. To the strike of screenwriters – resolved last week – and actors in Hollywood, has been added that of the automotive sector workers in Detroit and the green light for a good part of the staff that operates in the casinos in Las Vegas, about 50,000 people, to join the strikes. In the making, the partial paralysis of dozens of hospitals and medical centers for three daysif an agreement is not reached for a new agreement with one of the largest medical corporations in the country, Kaiser Permanente.
If it ends up setting, The strike would be the most important in the history of the health sector in the United States.. Some 75,000 members of the SEIU-UHW union, including nurses, X-ray technicians, pharmacists and cleaning staff, are prepared to stay at home starting Wednesday, affecting the normal operation of medical centers in California, Colorado, Oregn, Washington y Virginia, in addition to Washington DC between October 4 and 6.
Union leaders face an industry colossus. Kaiser is the largest medical organization in the country, with 39 hospitals and 700 medical offices in eight States and the District of Columbia. Total, 300,000 people work for Kaiser, a private medical service that costs on average about $480 a month for a 40-year-old adult and that can cost $1,500 per month for a family of four. Currently, the group has 12.7 million affiliated members.
On the table, the request for a considerable increase in salaries, protection against hiring freelancers and a review of the medical benefits of retired personnel, among other claims. “Workers are under pressure right now,” he said. Renee Saldana, spokesperson for SEIU-UHW. “They went through the worst global health crisis in a generation and after overcoming it they have to worry about paying the rent, about not losing their house, about having to live in their cars.”
They also face the lack of staff which is lengthening shifts and making each day unpredictable. “Workers can’t sleep at night thinking about what awaits them the next day due to staffing shortages,” a Kaiser employee at a hospital in Downey, southeast of Los Angeles, told CNN.
The confrontation between the parties has led to an unprecedented situation. If produced It will be the first strike against Kaiser at the national level. “This has never happened before in the 25 years of our association,” the union said in a statement. “Because Kaiser Permanente is engaging in bad faith negotiations, our bargaining team has requested an all-member vote to initiate a strike over unfair labor practices.”
They assure that the money is there, that Kaiser made $3 billion in profits in the first six months of the year and can afford salary increases. The only way to end the deterioration of patient care due to lack of personnel, they say, is to invest in their workforce. SEIU-UHW is part of a collective of eight unions willing to go on strike. They represent 40% of Kaiser’s total workforce.
Workers cannot sleep at night thinking about what awaits them the next day due to staff shortages.
Kaiser employee
From the corporation an confidence in power avoid strike. “While these strike plans are disappointing, we remain committed to reaching an agreement that is good for our employees, our members and our organization, and we will continue to negotiate in good faith,” Kaiser said in a statement.
The main battlehorse in the negotiation is the current shortage of personnel after the stampede caused by the pandemic. “Every health care provider in the country has faced staff shortages and is struggling with burnout. During the Great Resignation of 2021-22, more than five million people left their health care jobs nationwide. “Up to two-thirds of healthcare staff say they are burned out and more than one in five quit,” the company said in a statement. “Kaiser Permanente is not immune to these challenges.”
All this within the framework of one of the most expensive and complex medical systems in the world, causing the largest number of personal bankruptcies nationwide, 62%, according to a recent study. Some 23 million people have significant medical debt in the first world power, and although public hospitals cannot, by law, reject any patient, In the US there is no such thing as a basic right in Europe: free medical care.. You either pay through health insurance like Kaiser or pay the bill out of your own pocket. In many cases, the balance is simply unapproachable.
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