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Healthcare workers

She Was Brutally Killed Before She Could Write Her Story

August 30, 2024 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. , , , ,
On 8 August 2024, a 31-year-old doctor at the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata (West Bengal, India) finished her 36-hour shift at the hospital, ate dinner with her colleagues, and went to the college’s seminar hall to rest before her next shift. The next day, shortly after being reported missing, she was found in a seminar room, her lifeless body displaying all the signs of terrible violence. Since Indian law forbids revealing the names of victims of sexual crimes, her name will not appear in this newsletter. This young doctor’s story is by no means an isolated incident: every fifteen minutes, a woman in India reports a rape. In 2022, at least 31,000 rapes were reported, a 12% increase from 2020.

Healthcare Workers Need To Defend Gaza Solidarity Encampments

April 28, 2024 Mike Pappas, Left Voice. , , , , , ,
As the genocide in Gaza continues, people throughout the U.S. have mobilized in their workplaces and on the streets in solidarity with Palestine. Healthcare workers have organized, among other sectors, as it became more and more evident how there’s always money for war and genocide, but never for things like healthcare. But even as Israel’s onslaught has continued and sectors of vanguard are still in the streets, the larger sectors of the masses mobilizing had begun to wane. Now, though, students mobilizing to form encampments on campuses around the world represents a shift in the movement.

Has The Global Healthcare Workforce Crisis Finally Reached A Tipping Point?

March 3, 2024 Veronica Nilsson, Equal Times. , , ,
There is a global healthcare workforce crisis. That healthcare workers are underpaid, overworked and physically and emotionally stressed is widely recognised in many countries. The wider crisis across many nations is well-documented by unions and international organisations. This week, a decision was made which promises concerted action to end the crisis. Health ministers and ministries from almost 50 countries signed up to a commitment to “address health workforce shortages by concerted action to train, retain, and improve the working conditions of health and care workers”.

Stop The Crackdown On Pro-Palestinian Healthcare Voices

November 2, 2023 Mike Pappas and Mallika Govindan, Left Voice. , , , ,
As Israel continues its ongoing genocidal onslaught on Gaza, over 8,500 have been killed and countless injured. Israel just bombed Gaza’s largest refugee camp multiple times, killing hundreds. According to UNICEF, Israel’s assault is killing or injuring at least 400 children every day. The state continues to cut off Gaza’s ability to communicate with the outside world as it ramps up its bombing campaign, targeting healthcare facilities and healthcare workers in its campaign. After bombing Al-Ahli hospital (and then lying about the bombing), Israel directed those at Al Quds hospital to evacuate, then began bombing the area around the hospital — 100 medical workers, 500 patients, and 14,000 refugees were inside.

Healthcare Workers Are Standing With Palestine

October 27, 2023 Mike Pappas, Left Voice. , , , ,
With over 7,000 Palestinians killed and over 14,000 injured, the humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in Gaza. Some parents have resorted to writing the names of their children on their children’s bodies in fear they will otherwise be unidentifiable if they are killed in a bombing attack. The Healthcare Ministry of Gaza has declared that the healthcare system in the region has completely collapsed and that all hospitals in Gaza will run out of fuel and necessary medical supplies. An AP news report describes the scenes inside of hospitals a “nightmare.” Hospitals report running out of basic items like pain medications, antibiotics, bandages, and antiseptics.

To Fix Short-Staffing, Raise Wages, PeaceHealth Strikers Say

October 24, 2023 Jonathon Baker, Labor Notes. , , , , ,
One of the largest non-nurse health care strikes in Pacific Northwest history began at 6:30 a.m. this morning, shedding light on skilled workers who often get overlooked. We’re demanding that PeaceHealth, a Jesuit-run health system, raise wages and fix critically short staffing—two issues that are closely related. The strikers are 1,300 workers at two hospitals in southwest Washington: PeaceHealth Southwest in Vancouver, and PeaceHealth St. John in nearby Longview. The strike will last five days; workers will return to work October 28. PeaceHealth had announced that it would cut off health insurance if the strike continued into November.

Israeli Airstrike On Gaza City Hospital Kills At Least 500 People

October 18, 2023 Diego Ramos, Scheer Post. , , , , , , ,
An Israeli airstrike on the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City has killed more than 500 people, according to Palestinian health authorities and journalists on the ground. According to Al Jazeera journalist Maram Humaid, a spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported an initial estimate of 200-300 casualties. The health ministry has updated estimates to 500 people killed. Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting for Al Jazeera from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, detailed that the bombing on the hospital courtyard came without warning and has caused significant damage to the building, which continues to provide medical services.

Kaiser Permanente Workers In D.C. And Virginia Go On Strike

October 6, 2023 Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters. , , , ,
Thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers across the United States began a strike against contract negotiations that strikers say are not being done “in good faith” and fail to adequately address the “unsafe staffing levels” within the major medical organization. The contracts for several thousand Kaiser Permanente workers expired Sunday evening, including contracts for about 400 pharmacists and optometrists out of Virginia and Washington, D.C., kicking off the nationwide strike of Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers and technicians, according to a written statement from The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.

Kaiser Permanente Workers Begin Largest Healthcare Strike In US History

October 5, 2023 Mike Pappas, Left Voice. , , , , ,
The largest health care strike in U.S. history has begun, as more than 75,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente walked off the job this morning. The scheduled three-day labor stoppage comes after Kaiser failed to meet the demands of workers, continuing to prioritize their profits over patient care. The striking coalition includes eight unions representing health care workers from a variety of job descriptions and covers Kaiser facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Virginia, and Washington City. This represents about 40% of all Kaiser Permanente staff, according to spokeswoman Renee Saldana of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare (SEIU-UHW)—the largest union in the coalition.

Biggest Health Worker Strike In United States History Begins

October 4, 2023 People's Dispatch. , , , , , , , , , ,
On October 4, 75,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in several US states are set to go on strike for three days following the breakdown of contract negotiations last week. A coalition of several unions representing health workers in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Virginia, and Washington, DC is battling the nonprofit health giant for safe staffing levels, cost of living pay increases, and against a two-tier pay system that Kaiser is trying to introduce. The largest union in the coalition is Service Employees International Union (SEIU)-United Healthcare Workers West (UHW) with 57,443 members, but the coalition also includes Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 30, SEIU Local 49, OPEIU Local 2 and others.

Kaiser Permanente Contract Expires: 75,000 Workers To Go On Strike

October 2, 2023 Eva Rothenberg, CNN. , , , ,
A coalition of eight unions representing 75,000 employees of Kaiser Permanente said late Saturday that is has not reached an agreement with the company, setting the stage for the largest healthcare strike in US history on Wednesday. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which has workers at hundreds of hospitals and medical offices in California, Oregon, Colorado, Virginia, Washington and Washington, D.C., said in a statement that it remains far apart with the company on important issues but still has had “good discussions with Kaiser.” The healthcare workers are seeking across-the-board pay raises and improvements to their pension plans, as well as protections against outsourcing.

Healthcare Workers In Maryland, Virginia And DC Authorize Strike

September 19, 2023 Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters. , , , , , ,
Some 3,800 union healthcare workers in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., are threatening to go on strike at the end of this month if the leadership at Kaiser Permanente and the union cannot agree to a new contract addressing staffing shortages and low pay for workers. According to a Monday statement from OPEIU Local 2, which represents 8,000 workers in the region, about 98% of health care workers from the union voted to authorize a strike to protest “unfair labor practices” if no agreement is reached by Sept. 30. The health care workers represented by OPEIU Local 2 union include optometrists, pharmacists, nurses and certified nursing assistants.

Workers At A Chicago Safety-Net Hospital Went On Strike

August 16, 2023 Jeff Schuhrke, In These Times. , , , , , ,
Chicago, Illinois - Following an 11-day strike that galvanized a Chicago West Side neighborhood, around 200 hospital workers treating uninsured and underinsured patients have won and ratified a new contract they believe will help them better serve the community. Members of SEIU Healthcare, the mostly Black employees include nursing assistants, emergency room technicians, mental health workers and janitorial staff at Loretto Hospital, a 122-bed medical facility in the Austin neighborhood. Loretto is a privately run but publicly funded ​“safety-net” hospital, treating low-income patients regardless of their insurance, especially around issues such as addiction and mental health.

Health Workers In South Korea Prepare For Nationwide Strike

July 12, 2023 People's Health Dispatch, People's Dispatch. , , ,
The Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union (KHMU) has announced a nationwide strike starting Thursday, July 13, unless the government responds to their demands. The trade union has been concerned about staff shortages and low wages for years and is now prepared to escalate action as President Yoon Seok-yeol’s administration continues to ignore the issues faced by health workers. In a recent press release, the KHMU emphasized that the strike aims to defend the lives and health of the people, in collaboration with citizens. Trade union officials also stated that during the strike, they would address the existing problems in the healthcare system, emphasizing the danger of a collapse in essential and public healthcare due to a lack of health workers.

NHS Workers Undeterred By Government Attempts To Stop Strikes

May 3, 2023 People's Health Dispatch. , , ,
Rishi Sunak’s government in the UK is on a mission to curb the wave of strikes by health workers which began at the end of 2022. In April, the majority of members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unite the Union rejected Health Secretary Steve Barclay’s offer of a 5% salary increase and one-off payment, announcing they would continue striking for a better deal. Instead of reopening negotiations, the government took the RCN to court over what health workers have called a “technical discrepancy” over the organization’s strike mandate. The High Court ruled in favor of the government, shortening the strike originally scheduled to take place between April 30 and May 2 to less than 24 hours.
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