THE STRIKE wave sweeping the USA continues to grow, with tens of thousands of nurses and hundreds of Starbucks and Sodexo workers being the latest into action over a whole range of issues, including a nationwide struggle against poverty pay, for safe staffing levels, in defence of jobs and the fight to defeat union-busting.
Nurses strike
More than 21,000 union nurses at 21 Kaiser healthcare facilities in Northern California began a two-day strike on Monday 21st until 6.59am today, Wednesday, November 23, which saw picketing daily from 7.00am to 5.00pm.
California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) announced last Saturday: ‘In a historic year for nurses strikes, more than 21,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners at 21 Kaiser Permanente facilities will hold a two-day strike on Monday, November 21 and Tuesday, November 22, to protest at the administration’s refusal to address their ongoing concerns about workplace health and safety and chronic short staffing.
‘The nurses, who work at 21 Kaiser facilities in Northern California, notified their employer on November 10 that they would strike, making this one of the biggest private-sector nurses’ strikes in US history.
‘This 10-days’ notice of their strike follows a nearly unanimous strike authorisation vote earlier this month.
‘Nurses always give at least 10 days of advance notice to the hospital to allow for alternative plans to be made for patient care.
‘On September 1st, nurses at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center joined their Northern California nurse colleagues in holding informational pickets for a total of more than 22,000 nurses.
‘Kaiser registered nurses and nurse practitioners have been in negotiations for a new contract with little to no movement on key issues.
‘The nurses in Northern California have been negotiating since June 2022. The RNs and NPs urge management to invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that provides:
- Minimum staffing guidelines that ensure safe patient care;
- Increased hiring and training to end chronic short staffing;
- Job protections against Kaiser’s subcontracting and outsourcing plans.
‘We always want to give our patients the best care, but Kaiser refuses to provide the resources we need to do our jobs safely,’ said CNA President Cathy Kennedy, RN in the neonatal ICU unit at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Centre.
‘We are chronically short-staffed, which means patients are waiting longer for care.
‘This is unacceptable and unconscionable when Kaiser made more than $14 billion during the first two years of the pandemic,’ she added.
‘Nurses are missing their breaks and lunches every single day due to short staffing,’ said Diane McClure, RN in the post-anaesthesia care unit at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center.
‘We need our legally provided breaks so that we are rested and can provide the highest level of care.’
‘Without enough nurses in both inpatient and outpatient settings, patients are left for hours in the emergency room or receive inadequate and untimely access to outpatient care,’ said Michelle Vo, RN in the adult primary care unit at Kaiser Permanente Fremont Medical Center.
‘Our patients deserve better from a corporation that made more than $24 billion over the past five years.’
Starbucks strike
Over 100 unionised Starbucks locations are on strike, said Starbucks Workers United union last Thursday.
Its statement said: ‘The holiday season is supposed to be one of cheer, goodwill towards others, and kindness, but for Starbucks workers, it’s just another day of withstanding the corporation’s attempt to bully a union effort out of existence.
‘On Thursday, November 17th, thousands of Starbucks locations across the country will offer customers a branded Starbucks cup with select purchases.
‘However, in response to Starbucks’ union-busting tactics and refusal to bargain, dozens of unionising locations will commence the Red Cup Rebellion and, while on strike, will hand out red Starbucks Workers United union cups to customers instead.
‘This is the biggest coordinated national action taken by union Starbucks stores in the campaign’s history.
‘Despite being the face of the company, Starbucks partners are underpaid, forced to run perpetually understaffed stores, and don’t have consistent schedules they can rely on.
‘Conditions like these are what led Starbucks partners nationwide to begin their unionisation efforts seeing the private jets and million-dollar bonuses the company can afford to provide their executives with.
‘Now, Starbucks partners are demanding the right to organise a union free of intimidation and fear.
‘Whether it’s firing one of my coworkers for wearing a suicide awareness pin, how they’ve closed down a dozen locations in the process of unionising, or how we’re being denied benefits that non-union stores are getting, Starbucks has left behind the very values that drew many of us to the company in the first place.
‘You cannot be pro-LGTBQ, pro-BLM, pro-sustainability, and anti-union.
‘This Red Cup Day, we’re organising for a voice on the job and a true seat at the table,’ said Michelle Eisen, a worker from the Elmwood Avenue location in Buffalo, New York – the first unionised Starbucks store in the US.’
The union’s statement continued: ‘Starbucks’ continuous and lawless union-busting has cast doubt on the future of the American labour movement.
‘If Starbucks can break the law to stamp out their workers’ unionisation efforts, they could be writing the playbook for countless other companies to follow.
‘Unless Starbucks comes to the table and bargains in good faith for a fair contract, we can count on this to happen again with the potential to impact even more Americans.’
Starbucks Workers United represents over 260 locations accounting for close to 7,000 workers in the country.
The National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) has issued 39 official complaints against Starbucks, encompassing over 900 alleged violations of federal labour law.
Sodexo strike
After months of negotiations, Sodexo food service workers at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando – the third largest convention centre in the country – are voting to authorise a strike and are set to announce the results this week.
Their union UNITE HERE said last Saturday: ‘Centreplate food service workers at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the country’s second largest convention centre, have also been in negotiations with Sodexo and will announce a date for a strike vote during the press conference.
‘Centerplate was purchased by Sodexo in 2017. Sodexo food service workers in New Orleans, Sacramento, and Detroit will call on the company to avoid labour disputes in their cities.’
Jackeline Ponce, a Sodexo retail concessions worker at the Orange County Convention Center, said: ‘I support a strike because I need more money in my pocket to pay my bills when the cost of life has gone up so much.
‘I struggle with food, rent, and gas – I make $13.60 and our convention centre is one of the biggest in the country.
‘My co-workers and I are ready to do what it takes to win the contract we need.’
The bargaining units and disputes at each convention centre are distinct.
While specific issues vary from city to city, key issues across all five convention centres operated by Sodexo include wage increases, affordable health care, secure retirement, and fair scheduling.
