After Kaiser Permanente agreed to a minimum wage of $25 for its employees in the state, will the rest of the country follow?
Last week, labor scored its latest victory in a long run of success stories in 2023. In the face of a three day strike by nurses, ER technicians, and pharmacists earlier in the month, and the prospect of additional strike action in November by the coalition of unions representing 85,000 workers unless an agreement was reached, Kaiser Permanente agreed to a minimum wage of $25 per hour for California employees—90 percent of its employees are based in the Golden State—and $23 for employees elsewhere in the country. The healthcare giant also accepted a 21 percent pay increase for workers over four years, and the hiring of more staff to address chronic labor shortages.
The deal was finalized in a meeting in San Francisco, that ended in the middle of the night, presided over by acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. It had the backing of President Biden and Vice President Harris, both of whom made strong statements in favor of collective bargaining and the right to organize.
More healthcare workers went out on strike during the three-day action than had ever before walked off the job in the US in a single action. It was, quite rightly, seen as a historic moment, in which organized labor asserted its power within the healthcare system more than it has ever previously managed to do.
The strike shouldn’t be seen as an isolated event. In fact, labor has been...
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