Work Reform

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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.

Our Philosophies:

All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.

Our Goals

Higher wages for underpaid workers.
Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
Better and fewer working hours.
Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.

founded 1 year ago

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Health care workers picket outside US hospitals in multiple states, kicking off 3-day strike (apnews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/workreform

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Video on subject, The Hill:

Kaiser Permanente Workers Stage LARGEST HEALTH CARE Strike In US History: Report

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSSX3TEDwGc

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, representing about 85,000 of the health system’s employees nationally, approved a strike for three days in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, and for one day in Virginia and Washington, D.C. Some 75,000 people were expected to participate in the pickets.

The Oakland, California-based nonprofit company said its 39 hospitals, including emergency rooms, will remain open. Doctors are not participating, and Kaiser said it was bringing in thousands of temporary workers to fill the gaps. Still, appointments and non-urgent procedures could be pushed back.

Early Wednesday, workers at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center cheered as the strike deadline arrived. The strikers include licensed vocational nurses, home health aides and ultrasound sonographers, as well as technicians in the radiology, X-ray, surgical, pharmacy and emergency departments.

Across Virginia and Washington, D.C., only 180 workers were eligible to strike, according to Local 2 Secretary-Treasurer Sarah Levesque. The picketers had to travel miles across the region to meet up, so rather than commuting long distances for three days, they instead chose to participate in a one-day strike and converged in Springfield, Va., on Wednesday.

At least 453,000 workers have participated in 312 strikes in the U.S. this year, according to Johnnie Kallas, a Ph.D. candidate and the project director of Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker. That figure includes Kaiser workers.

Unions representing Kaiser workers in August asked for a $25 hourly minimum wage, as well as increases of 7% each year in the first two years and 6.25% each year in the two years afterward.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Healthcare strikes are complicated. It's weird because it's not like a retail business that can safely shut down. If we shut down a hospital, it could endanger people's lives, and that's the exact opposite of what we're trying to accomplish.

So we strike with compromises. A three day strike is like a warning shot. It gets public attention and it can be extended into an indefinite strike, if needed. Just a couple years ago here in Massachusetts, there was a nursing strike that lasted almost an entire year. That was accomplished by forcing them to staff the hospital with expensive travel nurses.

It's a controversial tactic. It can prolong the strike, but it maintains the trust and support of the public, which is more intrinsic to healthcare than other businesses.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Thank you for this context. It’s very helpful. God speed 🫡