Around 700 frontline healthcare workers at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, went on strike Monday over claims that the system is bargaining in bad faith.
The strike is set to run Monday through Friday and will include lab technicians, phlebotomists, patient transporters and other staff represented by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West.
A strike also began Monday at two PeaceHealth facilities in Washington for more than 1,300 frontline workers who claim system leaders are unwilling to offer living wages or address short staffing issues.
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Union members at Providence St. Joseph began bargaining with the center in June, ahead of their contract’s August expiration date, and have been unable to reach agreement with system leadership on issues of understaffing, employee turnover and patient care concerns, a spokesperson for the labor group said.
The two sides last met Oct. 13. The health system did not respond to requests for comment.
In August, clinicians at the center conducted informational picketing to protest the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare and assert that it cannot replace hands-on care or solve staffing shortages.
