One remaining sticking point in negotiations is whether to continue paying the same wage scale nationwide, or to pay more in markets where health care wages are higher. Kaiser Permanente Colorado said the combined health system already had agreed to hire 10,000 people nationwide, and has hired about 6,500 of them so far. The 3,000 employees in Colorado voting on the strike-authorization question are among 85,000 nationwide, represented by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, that could go on strike following the contract’s expiration. The organization has 33 medical offices in Colorado as well as a network of affiliated physicians and hospitals. Kaiser Permanente Colorado bills itself as the state’s largest nonprofit health care provider with more than 500,000 members. “Our members are basing their decision to strike on their fight for patient care,” she said. Staffing hasn’t kept up with patient needs, and the system needs to raise pay if it’s going to recruit and retain workers, she said. Stephanie Felix-Sowy, president of Local 105, said Thursday that she anticipated members would vote in favor of the authorization. The union’s bargaining committee and the health system could reach a deal before the contract expires, and even if they don’t, the bargaining committee could determine they’d rather keep talking than walk out. The union represents nearly half of Kaiser Permanente’s 6,800 employees in Colorado, and includes front office workers, licensed practical nurses and people who work in billing and customer service at the health care provider’s Colorado facilities, as well as technicians in the laboratory, pharmacy and other areas.Ī vote to authorize a strike doesn’t guarantee that one will happen. The members of Service Employees International Union Local 105 are voting through Friday afternoon to decide whether to authorize their bargaining committee to call a strike for up to two weeks. Roughly 3,000 technicians and support workers at Kaiser Permanente Colorado are voting this week to authorize a possible strike if their union fails to reach a deal with management by the end of the month. 22.Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu There is a national bargaining session with Kaiser scheduled for Sept. While the strike is a sacrifice, the union believes that without this healthcare workers and patients will suffer long-term effects in patient care and low wages. The company saw a $24 billion profit in the past five years. Kaiser can afford to do better, union releases say. The company is proposing to slash performance bonuses for frontline workers to benefit managers and executives, remove protections against subcontracting and outsourcing jobs, have uncompetitive starting salaries and not raise wages to keep up with the rising cost of living, according to the union. Instead of resolving the understaffing problem, Kaiser is making changes that could make the problem worse, according to the union. Kaiser executives keep refusing to listen to frontline healthcare workers on the issues that impact the care of our patients, and they’re violating the law by failing to bargain in good faith,” Katrina Schaetz, OB-GYN Clinical Assistant, said in the release. “We’ve been raising the alarm about patient safety, but Kaiser isn’t hearing us. Since the COVID-19 pandemic the facilities have had “chronic” understaffing levels that can lead to long wait times and rushed care, according to the release. Unsafe staffing levels is one of the main concerns for workers, according to the union. This comes after 65,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in California, Colorado, Oregon and Southwest Washington also voted to strike. The vote allows up to a two-week-long strike after Sept. The healthcare workers are represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union ( OPEIU) Local 2. Union demands center around understaffing – both retaining and recruiting additional staff – to properly serve patients’ needs.Īround 98% of the 3,800 unionized workers voted for the strike, according to a union press release. 30 in what could become the largest healthcare strike in U.S. and Virginia have voted to strike if their demands aren’t met by Sept. Thousands of Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in Maryland, Washington D.C.
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