Drenda Sims: We have employees sleeping in their cars because they cannot afford the cost of living. And we need a raise.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Today, my colleague and labor correspondent Farida Jhabvala Romero, joins us to talk about what health care workers want and how the strike is impacting patients. Stay with us.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Farida, we’re talking on Thursday morning in the middle of what I’m hearing is the largest health care worker strike in U.S. history. How big are we talking here?
Farida Jhabvala Romero: Yeah, we’re talking about tens of thousands of workers. About 68,000 workers in California. That includes more than 22,000 employees in the Bay Area. We’re talking about people who work in labs, radiology technicians, receptionist, medical assistance, people that work in the operating room. These are really the folks that make Kaiser Services run. Kaiser, you know, has become a really large health care provider. They serve nearly 13 million people across the country, most of them in California. So we’re talking about a really big organization that is nonprofit in large part. But we’re also seeing the same, you know, tensions for the workforce here that was absolutely, you know, brought to the forefront because of the pandemic.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: I think we all know health care workers have really been through so much during the pandemic. So what are the concerns and issues being raised by these workers?
Farida Jhabvala Romero: These workers want Kaiser to invest in higher wages across the board so that they can deal with the higher cost of living, especially in markets like the Bay Area. And they also want Kaiser to make investments to increase the minimum wage for workers across the board to be able to attract more people that can help address this understaffing problem that you hear employees talking about all the time. Since that pandemic, there’s been an exodus of millions of workers in the health care industry. Employees at Kaiser feel that because it’s an organization that is mostly nonprofit, they have a higher responsibility to invest more in their employees. Often, you know, when I spoken with Kaiser Health Care Workers, they feel underappreciated. People tell me, Hey, I risked my life during the pandemic to come to the hospital. I just want to be paid a little more than a 3% wage increase.
Michael Jones: I’ve caught Covid twice, and I still work for Kaiser. You know, I put my life at risk. You know.
Farida Jhabvala Romero: Michael Jones and every other employee who I spoke with at the picket lines had two main messages. They say they’re calling for fair wages and they say they’re calling for Kaiser to really increase the number of people employed by the organization in health care services so that they can take better care of their patients.
Michael Jones: For Kaiser to say that they can find somebody, to find other workers that don’t care for other workers that are better and cheaper. That’s a slap in the face. We’re not going anywhere. So you need to train people, right, and give them their justice.
Farida Jhabvala Romero: Sometimes I think something that comes through a lot when you speak with health care workers is they’re really passionate about their jobs. You know, they feel like it’s really a calling.
Michael Jones: You know, But my ultimate goal is to help those who are underprivileged and those who need the help. And that’s why I work in health care.
Farida Jhabvala Romero: So it’s not just about their economic well-being, but also you hear it in the same breath, you know, almost like I want my patients to be okay. I don’t want them to be waiting, you know, while they’re in pain. And so I think they’re really wanting Kaiser as an organization to invest a lot more.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Before they went on strike, the coalition of Kaiser Permanente unions demanded a 7% pay increase per year for two years, followed by a 6.25% annual increase for two years after that. Kaiser’s initial offer was more like 3% per year. Unions also wanted a minimum wage of $25 an hour in California. So far, Kaiser has offered $23 an hour at the negotiating table. Workers who are on strike say both of these demands will help to address the understaffing crisis they’ve been facing. Frieda, what has Kaiser said in response to all of this?
Farida Jhabvala Romero: Yes, we’ve asked Kaiser several times for an interview. We have not been able to speak with anyone, but they have issued several statements. One of the main points that they have is that they offer competitive wages and of the markets where they operate. They say they’re really like market leading. And they’ve said things like, you know, if workers were to leave Kaiser, they would actually be taking a pick up if they go work somewhere else. The other thing they say is that they have a lower attrition rate, so turnover than other, you know, companies in health care. They say that they’re very committed to taking care of their employees, but they also need to make sure that care remains affordable for the millions of people that Kaiser serves.
Farida Jhabvala Romero: So we’re talking about a lot of health care costs that Kaiser has to, you know, factor in and make the kind of investments that the unions are asking for. I do have to say, though, they have been making profits for several years in recent years, except for one. One year, I think it was last year. They are trying to invest more in properties that are growing. You know, we see Kaiser being advertised at Chase Center and other places around the Bay Area. Executive compensation, millions of dollars, you know, for several people and their executive team. And that’s the base salary. So I think workers who are striking see all that and they say, hey, I think Kaiser seems to be doing well and we want to be able to get a little bit more for ourselves so that we can continue working and in health care.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Well, I’m sure listeners are also wondering how this strike is going to impact them. I’m definitely one of those people. Have people seen any disruptions so far to the care that they there they go to Kaiser for.
Farida Jhabvala Romero: Emergency operations, their emergency departments, their hospitals, Those kinds of services are continuing to operate. They brought in thousands of contract workers, but their physicians, their doctors are not part of this strike. So doctors are still working and they have some staffers. The overwhelming majority of people in the union voted to authorize the strike. But, you know, some staffers decided to keep working. But if you’re looking for pharmacy services, maybe radiology, going to see the optometrist, all of those services may be closed or working with reduced hours. And some of those locations is what Kaiser said. The other thing that Kaiser started doing as rescheduling what they consider non-emergency surgeries.
Laveida Spence: My name is Laveida Spence.
Farida Jhabvala Romero: Laveida is a 78 year old lady who I met crossing the street in Oakland, going from the Oakland Medical Center, where hundreds of workers were crowding the sidewalks. You know, there was music, cars honking, all of this activity. And then I met her on the way to another facility because they moved their COVID and flu vaccination clinic out of the Oakland Medical Center to a nearby building.
Laveida Spence: So I got there and they told me I had to come to the Fabiola building. I met her all day, as you can tell from my breathing.
Farida Jhabvala Romero: She has issues with her lower back trouble walking. And here she was huffing and puffing, you know, trying to get to her COVID vaccine somewhere else. And she said she got the wrong information from the app. And so she just wanted Kaiser to, you know, be able to update members and where to go when they need services.
Laveida Spence: And I wouldn’t mind coming, but you should get your app straight and have the right information for people.
Farida Jhabvala Romero: She seemed to be, you know, one of the people in the camp where they say they they understand the reasons for the strike. They seem to be generally supportive of the health care workers, but they don’t want it to go very much longer.
Laveida Spence: Well, I understand the reasons for the strike and I’m in agreement with it. And as long as Kaiser can provide medical care for people that need it and emergency care, then I’m fine.
Farida Jhabvala Romero: What has been announced by the union is just a three day strike in California. But people are saying, hey, it could go longer. And if it does, then we’re going to see a lot more disruptions and delays to health care services for so many people.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Well, Frida, we’ve talked a lot about almost strikes and strikes lately. And this isn’t the first time that Kaiser workers have gone on strike. But what do you think this says about how health care workers are feeling right now?
Farida Jhabvala Romero: I mean, I think this is something shared by people working in many different industries. But definitely there’s a huge concern that wages are not keeping up with the cost of living. Now, like we were saying, in health care, it’s exacerbated even more by the feeling that, you know, workers felt like they were there, you know, when they were needed, when they had and we had this huge public health emergency. So I think the feeling for health care workers is they’ve made huge sacrifices and they deserve wage increases. They also feel like they’ve been falling behind. You know, the level of inflation are a lot more than what, you know, wages are increasing. So it’s it’s not keeping up. So those are those are basic things not only in health care, but in other industries. And one of the main reasons that we’re seeing so many strikes or threats to strike across across industries.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Well Farida thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Farida Jhabvala Romero: Appreciate it. Thank you, Erica.
