More than 80,000 Kaiser Permanente workers to strike in October

This will be a big one if it happens, apparently the biggest strike in decades. And a timely reminder that there are lots and lots of middle class folks--who are not doctors or nurses--employed by health care systems, and they'll fight for their paychecks.

More than 80,000 Kaiser Permanente workers to strike in October

Unions representing more than 80,000 Kaiser Permanente workers said their members will participate in a weeklong strike starting Oct. 14 to protest the company’s labor practices.

The healthcare giant’s workers will strike in California and five other states as well as the District of Columbia, the unions said. The strike will affect employees with jobs as optometrists, a variety of technicians, clinical laboratory scientists, housekeepers and hundreds of other positions — largely those who are not doctors, registered nurses or mental health workers.

A coalition of Kaiser Permanente unions announced the move in a news release Monday. With more than 80,000 workers, the October strike would be one of the biggest since 185,000 Teamsters went on strike at United Parcel Service in 1997, the coalition said.

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From another LA Times story when things started to get rough back in July:

The CKPU said that it’s seeking to “protect middle-class jobs with wages and benefits that can support families” but that the company “wants to reduce pay increases for frontline hospital workers and undercut their health benefits and job security.”

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Fantastic.

M4A

Greenbeard said:

This will be a big one if it happens, apparently the biggest strike in decades. And a timely reminder that there are lots and lots of middle class folks--who are not doctors or nurses--employed by health care systems, and they'll fight for their paychecks.

More than 80,000 Kaiser Permanente workers to strike in October


From another LA Times story when things started to get rough back in July:

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My brother is right now waiting on Kaiser Permanente for a surgery for an incredibly debilitating condition, for which he is paying this HMO a pretty penny to cover. I can only imagine that this will push it back further. I wonder how many people will die as a result of this strike.

Felis Leo said:

My brother is right now waiting on Kaiser Permanente for a surgery for an incredibly debilitating condition, for which he is paying this HMO a pretty penny to cover. I can only imagine that this will push it back further. I wonder how many people will die as a result of this strike.

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Hopefully, the strike won't effect him...
The prospective strikers are optometrists, technicians, clinical laboratory scientists, housekeepers and hundreds of other positions, and largely those who are not doctors, registered nurses or mental health workers.

3leftsdoo said:

Fantastic.

M4A

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Interesting, how would that impact these workers?

Felis Leo said:

My brother is right now waiting on Kaiser Permanente for a surgery for an incredibly debilitating condition, for which he is paying this HMO a pretty penny to cover. I can only imagine that this will push it back further. I wonder how many people will die as a result of this strike.

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So basically you are saying the strikers are at fault, no? Maybe if these giant corporations paid their employees a decent living wage this kind of thing wouldn't happen?

I'm so tired of the right implying americans should just be happy to have a job and accept whatever the employer is willing to pay. Capitalism where the ninety percent support the ten percent. Crazy.

bongsaway said:

So basically you are saying the strikers are at fault, no? Maybe if these giant corporations paid their employees a decent living wage this kind of thing wouldn't happen?

I'm so tired of the right implying americans should just be happy to have a job and accept whatever the employer is willing to pay. Capitalism where the ninety percent support the ten percent. Crazy.

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what do you do?

really....

ever owned a business? managed one?

do you have any conception on how hard it is to make a profit and eke out a living at most places?

i would bet you dont......

you think what the MSM tells you to think...that owners are lining their pockets with gold, and the workers be damned....

well...join the fray...pick a business...i dont care which one.....invest a million or two....and see how easy it is....c'mon give it a go....

What are they striking over? What is their average pay? What do they want it to be?

gdgyva said:

what do you do?

really....

ever owned a business? managed one?

do you have any conception on how hard it is to make a profit and eke out a living at most places?

i would bet you dont......

you think what the MSM tells you to think...that owners are lining their pockets with gold, and the workers be damned....

well...join the fray...pick a business...i dont care which one.....invest a million or two....and see how easy it is....c'mon give it a go....

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Unlike the donald, if someone gave me a million dollars to start a business, my guess, I wouldn't have to go back to daddy to get more.

And you keep believing what your gop handlers tell you and keep voting republican and be a wage slave all your life.

I'm retired, how about you?

bongsaway said:

So basically you are saying the strikers are at fault, no? Maybe if these giant corporations paid their employees a decent living wage this kind of thing wouldn't happen?

I'm so tired of the right implying americans should just be happy to have a job and accept whatever the employer is willing to pay. Capitalism where the ninety percent support the ten percent. Crazy.

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All you've just done is toss out a boiler plate talking point, how intellectually lazy. Funny how the story doesn't mention employee wages:

"The union coalition listed some of its grievances, alleging Kaiser is sitting on billions in profits and reserves and enriching its top executives while outsourcing jobs to companies that pay less and offer fewer benefits. The coalition also said health insurance premiums rise each year hurting patients, and Kaiser doesn’t do its part in serving Medicaid patients, serving a disproportionately small number compared to the 21% of Americans overall who receive health insurance through Medicaid."

Kaiser for a very long time has been one of the most progressive companies out there. They are #7 in the list of Best Large Companies to work for and they make a whole lot more than #1. If you live in Florida, odds are you shop at it--Publix. So either you have information about Kaiser that wasn't mentioned in the story, or the reporter did a crappy job, or perhaps they don't fit your boiler plate description.

bongsaway said:

Unlike the donald, if someone gave me a million dollars to start a business, my guess, I wouldn't have to go back to daddy to get more.

And you keep believing what your gop handlers tell you and keep voting republican and be a wage slave all your life.

I'm retired, how about you?

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and did you EVER own or manage a business?

again, my bet is NO....

my bet is you were a union worker of some sort.....maybe a teacher or a government worker

and i OWN my own business.....a small business that i have invested a LOT of money into

before i was a CFO in the car business for 35 years....so maybe i have just a little knowledge of how business works

AliHajiSheik said:

Interesting, how would that impact these workers?

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That would be the inverse. The union is a monopoly seller of labor that uses its position to drive up wages and employment, single-payer is a monopsony buyer that theoretically uses its position to drive down wages and employment.

gdgyva said:

and did you EVER own or manage a business?

again, my bet is NO....

my bet is you were a union worker of some sort.....maybe a teacher or a government worker

and i OWN my own business.....a small business that i have invested a LOT of money into

before i was a CFO in the car business for 35 years....so maybe i have just a little knowledge of how business works

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I do have an idea of how business works. I owned a small painting company for a couple of years so yes indeed I do know why you support business owners over hourly wage workers.

Most business owners I've ever run across, the better they do, in general the worse the workers do financially. After a while most owners fall into the workers are a dime a dozen mentality forgetting the folks who may have helped them get where they are with their twenty years of service. Trump is the perfect example. Demands complete loyalty and in return eventually you'll be shown the door, it's all one way.

Greenbeard said:

This will be a big one if it happens, apparently the biggest strike in decades. And a timely reminder that there are lots and lots of middle class folks--who are not doctors or nurses--employed by health care systems, and they'll fight for their paychecks.

More than 80,000 Kaiser Permanente workers to strike in October


From another LA Times story when things started to get rough back in July:

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Kaiser Permanente is a TERRIBLE health care insurance company! Their goal is to make money.

MauiMan said:

Kaiser Permanente is a TERRIBLE health care insurance company! Their goal is to make money.

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Out west they're not just an insurance company, they're also a health care provider (doctors, hospitals, etc). I would imagine those care settings are where most of the potential strikers work.

Felis Leo said:

My brother is right now waiting on Kaiser Permanente for a surgery for an incredibly debilitating condition, for which he is paying this HMO a pretty penny to cover. I can only imagine that this will push it back further. I wonder how many people will die as a result of this strike.

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Felis, its so nice to see a conservative who supported Obamacare. Even the anti-trump conservatives (the ones who didn't flush their values down the toilet) didn't support Obamacare. I continue to be impressed by your posts. I hope your brother's surgery goes well.