Declaring that understaffing had them “running on empty,” 5,000 nurses, doctors, midwives, and nurse practitioners walked off the job January 10 in an open-ended strike at Providence Health and Services, the dominant hospital chain in the Pacific Northwest. The strikers work at eight hospitals plus women’s health clinics across Oregon. They’re demanding proper staffing, affordable health insurance, and competitive pay that can attract and retain seasoned workers.
  • regul [any]
    ·
    3 days ago

    My buddy is a Providence nurse, but is not striking. He told me he talked it over with his union rep. It's literally his first full-time nursing gig after training, and he has no savings, just moved across the country, and has shitloads of student loans. I mentioned that his union should have a strike fund for this sort of situation, but I assume he would know better than me.

    Anyway it has been an eye-opener for me, as someone who has never been a part of a union and who does not have student loans, to see the way that American life is structured in such a way as to sap the power of organized labor. My mantra has always been "don't be a scab", but I guess sometimes it can be more complicated than that. And he's not technically scabbing, since he's just working his normal job and hasn't been brought on temporarily to cover.

    Much to consider.

    • Inui [comrade/them]
      ·
      3 days ago

      We're just starting unionization efforts at our workplace and some people have similar concerns because we're not actually in a bad position, relatively.

      Primarily people who have ongoing medical issues that can't afford to jeopardize their income stream in any way at the moment. They're supportive, but cautious.