Kaiser Permanente workers launch historic strike over staffing and pay
CBSN
More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers launched a strike on Wednesday at hospitals and medical centers across five states and Washington, D.C, the largest walkout by health care workers in U.S. history.
The work stoppage involving nurses, lab technicians, pharmacists and other workers started at 6 a.m. local time at hundreds of Kaiser hospitals and medical offices in California, Colorado, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Washington, D.C., according to the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.
The strike, which schedule to last three days, threatens to disrupt medical services for almost 13 million people, curtailing nonessential care like routine checkups. Hospitals and emergency department will continue to operate, staffed by doctors, managers and "contingent workers," said Oakland-based Kaiser, the nation's biggest provider of managed care services.
