75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers went on a 3 day walkout that began on October 4th, 2023. The states that were on strike included, California, Colorado, Washington and Oregon. NPR states, ” It included 75,000 – mainly support staff – across five states and Washington, D.C. About 80% of the workers were in California.”

The strike was one of the largest healthcare walkouts ever. Staff went on strike due to Kaisers continuous failure to resolve staffing issues and pay that hasn’t kept up with inflation. Workers are getting overworked and are not getting paid to support their cares and needs. Staff is giving the company close to 3 weeks to meet the needs of workers. CBS news states, “A wage proposal by Kaiser earlier in the week offered an hourly floor of $21 to $23, depending on location, beginning next year and to be increased by one dollar in 2025 and 2026. Unions in the summer had called for a $25 an hour minimum across Kaiser facilities.”

Julia Zelaya, a senior student at Don Lugo who has used Kaiser for many years described her feelings about the situation, “I’m glad the workers are standing up for themselves and demanding for a better pay. I  believe that healthcare workers should get the pay they deserve for the hard work they do.” Many healthcare workers are overworked and underpaid. An article written by Medical Economic states that 73% of healthcare workers in a survey felt underpaid. That is an incredibly large percent. If these workers don’t get the pay they need, there just might be an even larger strike soon.