Justin Yau

PORTLAND. Ore. (Reuters). Union leaders at Kaiser Permanente set a Nov.15 strike deadline for their 3,400-member nurses and medical staff. If negotiations do not make progress, they threatened a walkout which would result in the loss of some 30,000 workers.

Kaiser is in conflict with the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals over its plan to create a two-tiered wage structure that will pay lower wages for employees who are newly hired than for their senior counterparts.

According to the union, such a system could worsen what nurses call a staffing shortage in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaders in labor cite the survey that Kaiser nurses and other healthcare workers conducted to find 42% of them considering quitting because of their mistreatment.

Kaiser is ranked as the largest non-profit health network and managed-care organization in America, boasting nearly 12.5 Million plan members and nearly $24 Billion in operating revenue last quarter.

According to the health network, a statement was issued saying that it is “still hopeful” that labor disruptions will be avoided through its continued negotiations.

Kaiser said that the wages of its union workers in many areas earn 26% to 38% more than average market rates. This was incorrect, the union claimed.

A strike was authorized by the rank and file of the union on October 11.

Jodi Barrschow, the president of the Oregon Federation of Nurses said that “Striking may be the best option, but it’s what we have to do in order to protect our patients, workers and the entire public health system”. She released a statement declaring the strike deadline.

According to the statement, nearly 3400 union members from Oregon and SW Washington – nurse practitioners, lab technicians, and physician assistants – will be fired on November 15th at 6 AM unless “negotiations improve”.

Union officials stated that 32,000 Kaiser employees from other affiliated unions would join the strike, refusing to cross picketlines, and that another 8,000 Kaiser workers could follow soon in California and Washington.

Kaiser owns 64 facilities throughout Oregon and Washington.

A labor contract was reached in September 2019 by Kaiser and more than 80k unions in California, six other states and Washington that avoided strike action.

In the midst of a year-long period of labor unrest throughout America, this latest conflict comes in response to a United Auto Workers strike against John Deere (NYSE :).