OAKLAND, Calif. — Over 18,000 Calif. nurses are planning to participate in a nationwide strike beginning Nov. 12 in protest of hospital Ebola preparedness.
The strike is organized through National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association and should affect 21 hospitals and 65 clinics in northern Calif. owned by Kaiser Permanente, Bloomberg News reports. It will last two days and with demonstrations in 14 other states as well.
A spokesperson for the union said that Kaiser, “continued to stonewall on dozens of proposals to improve patient care standards, as well as refusing to address the concern of Kaiser RNs about Ebola safety protocols and protective equipment, refusing to even answer questions by the RNs.”
Kaiser hospitals will remain open during strike and dispute the union’s claims
“We are training our staff on how to use the right protective gear, to make sure they know how to use it,” Kaiser spokesman John Nelson said.
“We have repeatedly asked union leadership to work with us on our Ebola strategy,” he said. “They have refused. Instead, they continue to hold press conferences claiming hospitals are unprepared for Ebola.”