East Bay Health Care Workers Are Striking Against Austerity and for Public Control
Workers in Alameda County, California’s public health system say they have long struggled under austerity and mismanagement. They are currently on strike, demanding safe working and patient care conditions, and democratic accountability for a health system that should serve the needs of the public.
Health care worker during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
On Wednesday, October 7, about three thousand nurses and other public health care workers in California’s Alameda County began a five-day strike. The strike affects eight public hospitals and clinics in the East Bay administered by the Alameda Health System (AHS).
The strike followed a breakdown in negotiations between AHS and Service Employees International Union Local 1021 after nine months of bargaining. The union’s members overwhelmingly support the strike: 98 percent of members at Highland, Alameda, and San Leandro Hospitals voted to walk out. The California Nurses Association, which also represents workers in AHS, reported that 99 percent of members at San Leandro Hospital and 100 percent at Alameda Hospital voted to strike.
Meagan Day reported on the horrifying austerity conditions in AHS earlier this year. Years of underfunding and negligence by management had left the system understaffed and underresourced before COVID-19. When the pandemic began, AHS workers said they suffered from extreme understaffing and shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), hand sanitizer, and other necessary medical supplies.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.