Kaiser nurses holding 24-hour sympathy strike in support of engineers’ union
On day 63 of strike by Engineers, Local 39
Taking over where the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, OPEIU Local 29 and IFPTE Local 20 m members left off, Kaiser nurses are holding a 24-hour sympathy strike in solidarity with IUOE Stationary Engineers, Local 39. It started at 7 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 19 and will last until 7 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20, the California Nurses Association (CNA) announced. The strikes are being held at all Kaiser facilities in Northern California including both Antioch and Walnut Creek in Contra Costa County. Friday marks the 63rd day the Kaiser engineers have been on strike. (See related article)
“An injury to one of us is an injury to all of us, so nurses will be standing in solidarity with our engineer colleagues as they go on strike this month,” said CNA President Cathy Kennedy, a registered nurse at Kaiser Permanente in Roseville. “It’s so important for working people to stand together, and we hope that with the nurses by their side, Kaiser engineers will win meaningful change for working people, and for safe patient care conditions.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaiser Permanente has made $13 billion in profits. However, rather than spend that money on increasing core staffing, Kaiser has proposed to float engineers among facilities. This model would institutionalize the staffing shortages that have already hurt patients and workers. Rather than accept this takeaway, engineers have been on strike for nearly two months.
“Nurses know the devastating impact that short staffing has on our community’s health and well-being,” said Kennedy. “We also know that in order to provide the safe patient care our communities need and deserve, we must be able to count on our coworkers and they must be able to count on us. So, we are standing with the Kaiser engineers in their righteous fight for a safe and just workplace.”
CNA registered nurses will be holding sympathy strikes at locations including:
- Antioch Medical Center, 4501 Sand Creek Rd, Antioch, CA 94531
- Walnut Creek Medical Center, 1425 S Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
- Fremont Medical Center, 39400 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont, CA 94538
- Fresno Medical Center, 7300 N Fresno Street, Fresno, CA 93720
- Manteca Medical Center, 1777 W. Yosemite Avenue, Manteca, CA 95337
- Modesto Medical Center, 4601 Dale Road, Modesto, CA 95356
- Oakland Medical Center, 3600 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611
- Redwood City Medical Center, 1100 Veterans Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94063
- Richmond Medical Center, 901 Nevin Avenue, Richmond, CA 94801
- Roseville Medical Center, 1600 Eureka Road, Roseville, CA 95661
- Sacramento Medical Center, 2025 Morse Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95825
- San Francisco Medical Center, 2425 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115
- San Leandro Medical Center, 2500 Merced Street, San Leandro, CA 94577
- San Rafael Medical Center, 99 Montecillo Road, San Rafael, CA 94903
- Santa Clara Medical Center, 700 Lawrence Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95051
- Santa Rosa Medical Center, 401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
- San Jose Medical Center, 250 Hospital Parkway, San Jose, CA 95119
- South San Francisco Medical Center, 1200 El Camino Real, South San Francisco, CA 94080
- South Sacramento Medical Center, 6600 Bruceville Road, Sacramento, CA 95823
- Vacaville Medical Center, 1 Quality Drive, Vacaville, CA 95688
- Vallejo Medical Center, 975 Sereno Drive, Vallejo, CA 94589
The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 175,000 RNs nationwide.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
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