Kaiser healthcare strike approaches 3rd week; 4,000 pharmacy and lab workers prepare to join the pickets

The strike by 31,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers, now in its second week, is intensifying with 4,000 pharmacy and laboratory workers joining the picket lines on Monday, citing concerns over understaffing, patient safety, and exploitation.
Kaiser has proposed a 21.5 percent wage increase, but workers argue this figure is inflated and does not address the core issues of staffing ratios and working conditions, with nurse Gina stating, "We want the best for them, and the staffing ratios are wrong."
As the strike gains momentum, workers are criticizing the union bureaucracy's decision to return to negotiations at the local level, viewing it as a tactic to dissipate the strike's strength and allow Kaiser to settle contracts piecemeal, with Gina emphasizing, "This isn't a party, this is a strike," and warning that proposed contracts would institutionalize inequality between current and future workers.