R. Craig Weber’s Post

More than 75,000 nurses, pharmacists and other employees of the Kaiser Permanente health system walked off the job Wednesday in the largest U.S. healthcare strike on record. The workers struck after contracts expired and their unions couldn’t reach an agreement with Kaiser on how much a new deal would increase wages and staffing.  To minimize the impact on patients, Kaiser said it would bring on temporary workers to fill some vacancies, but would, if needed, postpone some appointments and expand its network to retail pharmacies and, for some people, non-Kaiser hospitals. “Our plans ensure that the urgent needs of our members and patients are the top priority,” Kaiser said. The strike, which is scheduled to last as long as three days, adds hospitals, pharmacies and clinics to workplaces roiled by labor action this year, after auto workers and Hollywood writers stopped work.  Through August this year, the U.S. had lost more workdays to labor disputes than any full year since 2000. Unions emboldened by public support and the tight labor market are flexing their power to demand higher pay. Workers have also seen how strikes by other unions have secured contract wins. Kaiser, based in Oakland, Calif., is a well-known name in healthcare, pioneering the combination of a health insurer, hospitals and doctor’s offices under one roof in a bid to offer higher-quality care while controlling costs. The system serves 12.7 million members at 40 hospitals and more than 620 medical offices, mostly on the West Coast but also in Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland and Virginia. Kaiser counts about 213,000 employees who aren’t physicians.