COLORADO — Here in Colorado, more than 3,000 healthcare workers are striking this morning against Kaiser Permanente.
The workers are asking for better pay and a quicker hiring process. I spoke with an employee at the company who says the company is understaffed and this has led to longer wait times for patients. Workers say the strike is needed to find a middle ground between the employees and Kaiser Permanente. I spoke with a representative from Kaiser Permanente on the phone yesterday. He says there will still be some medical staff working today to help patients. Employees have been made aware of this.
“We do understand that that is going to put people at a disadvantage, but we’ve done everything we can to reschedule those patients and inform them of other opportunities to get in on other schedules because we do care about our patients. This is about getting care and providing better quality care to them,” said Alison Schmalz, an LPN at Kaiser Permanente.
“I do know that our management and our doctors have been working really hard to make sure that they have reduced template patients, but they are still going to be there to care for you. You might just be directed for lab and pharmacy and x-ray.”
Alison tells me employees feel burnt out. She believes better pay will help to keep employees and will attract new staff.
The strike will last three days.
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