LOS ANGELES — Union-affiliated nurses at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles are on strike for 24 hours Thursday as they continue to negotiate a new employment contract. Nurses plan to picket from 7:00 to 17:00, and at noon to hold a rally outside a medical center in Los Angeles.
Ahead of the strike, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles released a statement calling the move a failure as the union decided to try to disrupt patient care and service as a negotiating tactic, especially during a pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been an incredibly challenging and stressful time to work on the front lines of healthcare. We are extremely grateful to our healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente, whose commitment to healthcare over the past two and a half years has been nothing short of inspiring,” the release reads.
The California Nurses Association/National Nursing Union, which represents nurses at Kaiser, says the strike is intended to address patient care and staff safety issues that have been impacted during the pandemic.
“Over the past four months, we have seen 50 nurses leave our hospital due to poor working conditions that jeopardize patient care,” says Tinni Abogado, a registered nurse with 26 years of experience, 20 of which are at the Medical Center Los Angeles. said in a released statement. “I spent two decades at this hospital caring for this community. It pains me to see experienced nurses leaving our hospital.
“When they walk out the door, they gain knowledge and experience that is critical to our patient care. The nurses leave because they work 12-hour days without a break. They’re reaching out for supplies, and they’re just not there. Kaiser made a profit of $8.1 billion last year, they have enough money to make sure we have syringes when we need them, support staff to care for our patients and nurses to assist nurses to ensure nurses lunch breaks.
Kaiser Permanente said they want to reassure members and patients that their care is a top priority, even during the planned one-day nurses’ strike.
“Therefore, we have contingency plans in place to ensure that members and patients continue to receive uninterrupted deliveries and access to high-quality healthcare during this one-day strike. These plans include filling anticipated nursing vacancies with temporary nursing staff and transferring trained and experienced management staff to appropriate support areas as needed. We do not expect this event to impact procedures and services already scheduled,” the statement said.
The California Nursing Association represents approximately 1,000 nurses at the Los Angeles Medical Center. The strike and rally is taking place at 4867 Sunset Blvd, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Kaiser Permanente said, “We look forward to continuing to negotiate at the negotiating table because this is the best way to resolve differences and reach a mutually beneficial agreement.”
