Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

11 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

15 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

15 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

15 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

15 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

15 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

15 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

16 hours ago
Healthcare Workers Give Kaiser Strike Notice. Fresno Employees Could Walk Out Oct. 3
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
September 25, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A coalition of unionized Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers delivered a 10-day strike notice to the nonprofit healthcare provider, threatening a three-day work stoppage Oct. 4 through Oct. 6 if they don’t reach a deal before the end of the month.

Julianna Morano Portrait

Julianna Morano

Fresnoland

More than 75,000 Kaiser workers in California and other states plan to join the “the largest healthcare strike in U.S. history” if it comes to that, a news release Friday from the coalition said.

This is also the plan for Fresno’s Kaiser facilities, local union members told Fresnoland.

“Just a very short couple of years ago, we were heroes to Kaiser,” said Jessica Armiento, a respiratory therapist at Kaiser’s hospital in Fresno. “We worked so many hours, especially in our department, the respiratory department.”

“Now we’re not … we went from being heroes to being a nuisance.”

Armiento and roughly 1,500 workers at Kaiser’s Fresno Medical Center and multiple offices around the county plan to join the potential Kaiser strike next month.

Locally, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West covers respiratory therapists, lab technicians, cooking staff, housekeepers, and other healthcare workers at Kaiser’s Fresno facilities.

In a statement issued Friday, Sept. 25, Kaiser Permanente responded that the “strike notice does not mean a strike will happen,” and said it will continue to bargain in good faith until a “fair and equitable agreement” is reached.

“The Coalition unions are positioned to strike in October,” the statement reads. “However, for the last 26 years of our historic labor-management partnership, we have reached agreements with the Coalition every time, with no strikes.”

Kaiser added that it has “plans in place” to ensure they continue to provide care in the event of a work stoppage.

What Kaiser Employees Are Seeking

The coalition is fighting for better wages to combat what they describe as a staffing crisis. One of their proposals includes a $26 per hour minimum wage within Kaiser.

The healthcare giant has countered that this proposal “would not reflect market labor costs” between the different cities where it pays workers.

In Friday’s statement, Kaiser touted recent hiring data – the filling of 9,700 union-represented jobs this year –  as evidence they’re living up to a shared goal with the coalition of hiring 10,000 new people in 2023.

Despite that, workers like Armiento say they continue to feel the effects of staffing shortages – and that it’s even affecting their ability to diagnose serious conditions like lung cancer.

“There’s times that we don’t have enough staff – or trained staff – that these procedures have to be canceled. They’re obviously time-sensitive,” she said, “and if they’re canceled, we’re not diagnosing someone or giving them a stage in a timely manner.”

This article first appeared on Fresnoland and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

About the Author

Julianna Morano is the labor and economy reporter at Fresnoland.

About Fresnoland

Fresnoland is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to making policy public.

 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

DON'T MISS

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

DON'T MISS

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

DON'T MISS

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

DON'T MISS

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

DON'T MISS

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

DON'T MISS

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

UP NEXT

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

UP NEXT

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

UP NEXT

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

UP NEXT

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

UP NEXT

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

UP NEXT

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

UP NEXT

Valley Children’s Goes Into News Business to Highlight Stories at the Hospital

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Logan Ryan Martin

UP NEXT

Fresno Police to Hold DUI Checkpoint on Independence Day

UP NEXT

Four Rescued After Kings River Float Turns Dangerous

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

9 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

9 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

9 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

9 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

9 hours ago

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

10 hours ago

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

10 hours ago

CIA Review Finds Flaws but Does Not Dispute Finding Putin Sought to Sway 2016 Vote to Trump

11 hours ago

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

11 hours ago

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

12 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

WASHINGTON – Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday struggled to pass President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut...

8 hours ago

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the press, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
8 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

The Madre Fire in San Luis Obispo County has rapidly expanded to 8,396 acres with no containment, prompting evacuation orders and warnings near New Cuyama. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

Andrew Biscay, 40, was arrested Friday, June 20, 2025, after deputies found him with a fake U.S. Marshal’s badge, homemade firearm, and law enforcement-style gear during a warrant arrest. (Madera County SO)
8 hours ago

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, a Madera County sheriff’s deputy was injured while trying to arrest a wanted felon, Felix Adrian Nucamendi Carrasco, 40, who later fled and was captured near Raymond Road. (Madera County SO)
9 hours ago

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

A wildfire dubbed the Madre Fire has burned over 3,300 acres near New Cuyama with 0% containment, officials said Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (CalFire)
9 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

9 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

Jose Luna (left), 33, and Ralph Grajeda, 45, both of Visalia, have been sentenced for their roles in the 2020 shotgun killing of Robert Soto at a local motel. (Tulare County DA)
9 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend