Tens of thousands of health care workers are back at work after their union and Kaiser Permanente officials agreed to resume bargaining, ending a five-day strike at hundreds of hospitals across California, Oregon and Hawaii.
California
WSJ News Exclusive | The Secret Foreign Roots of Tech Titans’ New California City
When the backers of a secretive effort to amass nearly $1 billion worth of land in California finally unveiled their vision this past summer, they did so in great detail. They announced plans to build a new city near San Francisco. They listed the Silicon Valley titans involved.
California Forever, as the project was called, described itself as “a California company backed by California investors.”
Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

California
Pedestrian killed by big rig in hit-and-run on I-5 in Yolo County, CHP says

A man died Tuesday night after being struck by a big rig while running along southbound Interstate 5 northwest of Woodland in California’s Yolo County, officials said.
The California Highway Patrol’s Woodland division said it happened around 8 p.m. near the Interstate 505 interchange, between Dunnigan and Zamora. Crews were already responding to a nearby medical call and were able to arrive quickly, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses told officers that an all-white big rig initially slowed down after the crash but then continued driving south on I-5 toward Sacramento. The CHP says the truck likely has damage to its front left corner.
The CHP Woodland is asking anyone who may have seen the crash or has information about the truck or its driver to contact their office.
Traffic in the area was not affected.
California
Motorcycle rider sent over guardrail in fatal Southern California crash

California Highway Patrol (CHP) investigators are trying to determine what led up to a fatal motorcycle crash in Corona over the weekend.
The collision occurred as the vehicles were traveling in opposite directions near a sharp turn on Cajalco Road just east of Eagle Canyon Road around 8:45 p.m. Sunday.
Arriving officers found the motorcycle down in the roadway near a car with front-end damage and a smashed windshield.
The unidentified motorcycle rider was sent over the railing as a result of the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, news video service OnScene.TV reported.
The occupants of the car involved in the crash were treated at the scene by paramedics but were not transported to a hospital, the news service stated.
It was unclear if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.
California
Kaiser Permanente health care workers back on job after five-day strike

Kaiser Permanente workers begin a five-day strike Tuesday outside of the health care giant’s Broadway campus in Oakland. The employees are back at work after agreeing to resume bargaining with Kaiser.
The strike began Tuesday, when thousands of health care workers from the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals at more than 500 Kaiser hospitals and clinics took to the picket lines, demanding safer staffing and better pay and benefits. In turn, their employer blasted the labor action as “unnecessary” and “disruptive.”
The labor action ended at 7 a.m. Sunday, according to a Kaiser Permanente spokesperson. Union and hospital officials confirmed that the two groups will resume economic discussions later this week and formally return to the national bargaining table on Oct. 28 and 29.
Article continues below this ad
“We stood strong for five days and made sure the world heard us,” UNAC/UHCP President Charmaine S. Morales said. “This strike wasn’t just about numbers on a contract — it was about the right to provide safe care to every patient who walks through those doors.”
Tens of thousands of health care workers hit the picket lines at more than 500 Kaiser Permanente hospitals, including the Broadway campus in Oakland.
The union represents registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, dieticians and other health care professionals. UNAC/UHCP is part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which negotiates contracts for 23 local unions, including UNAC/UHCP. The contracts for Kaiser workers in this local union expired Sept. 30 or Oct. 1.
The union says its bargaining team has met with Kaiser in good faith over several months to negotiate a new contract, but that Kaiser has resisted its proposals to raise pay and fix staffing issues. It says that while inflation has grown 18.5% since 2021, Kaiser’s wages have grown only 10%; as a result, it says the union’s members are behind their industry peers. The union is proposing a 25% wage increase over the next four years.
Union officials have also objected to unsafe staffing, scheduling pressures and burnout. State filings show more than 200 positions were cut across Kaiser Foundation Hospitals locations last month, from sites in Oakland, Pleasanton, San Leandro, Pasadena, Redwood City, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego. Kaiser has previously said these reductions primarily affected business functions and do not involve direct patient care.
Article continues below this ad
The hospital system says workers represented by the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which includes UNAC/UHCP, already earn 16% more than their peers. Kaiser has offered a 21.5% wage increase.
Contracts for tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers, including these at the Broadway campus in Oakland, expired Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
The strike comes as the Joint Commission, the national body that accredits health care organizations and programs, rolled out more robust guidelines this month that formally recognized staffing as a critical component of health care quality rather than primarily anoperational or budgetary concern.
Labor leaders were quick to point to the new standards, saying they showed “what nurses have known all along: Unsafe staffing is unsafe care,” Morales said. “Employers like Kaiser can no longer treat staffing like a budget line. It’s now a national patient safety mandate — and UNAC/UHCP will make sure it’s enforced.”
Article continues below this ad
In their own news release, Kaiser Permanente officials said they were resuming normal operations and thanked their front-line care teams, adding that when the two sides return to the bargaining table, the main focus will be on economic issues.
“While the Alliance has publicly emphasized staffing and other concerns, wages are the reason for the strike and the primary issue in negotiations,” the statement said. “At a time when the cost of health care continues to go up steeply, and millions of Americans are having to make the difficult choice to go without coverage, it’s critical that we keep quality, accessible health care coverage affordable — while attracting and retaining top talent and keeping Kaiser Permanente a great place to work and receive care. Our offer does all this.”
-
World2 days ago
Israel continues deadly Gaza truce breaches as US seeks to strengthen deal
-
News2 days ago
Trump news at a glance: president can send national guard to Portland, for now
-
Technology2 days ago
AI girlfriend apps leak millions of private chats
-
Business2 days ago
Unionized baristas want Olympics to drop Starbucks as its ‘official coffee partner’
-
Politics2 days ago
Trump admin on pace to shatter deportation record by end of first year: ‘Just the beginning’
-
Science2 days ago
Peanut allergies in children drop following advice to feed the allergen to babies, study finds
-
News1 day ago
Books about race and gender to be returned to school libraries on some military bases
-
Politics21 hours ago
Hunter Biden breaks silence on pardon from dad Joe: ‘I realize how privileged I am’