AURORA, Colo. — A union said nationwide 75,000 Kaiser Permanente employees went on strike Wednesday, and that figure includes about 3,000 Coloradans.
Employees outside the Aurora Centerpoint Medical office told 9NEWS they wanted Kaiser to resolve understaffing by hiring more people and offering better wages.
The head of the Metropolitan State University of Denver Health Institute, Emily Matuszewicz said the industry has challenges, which can also create opportunities.
“The staffing shortages that occurred during COVID have put us into a crisis moment. I think the opportunity there is for us to really take a second look at what it takes for us to train a really strong health care workforce," said Matuszewicz.
She said employees want to consider the vision of a potential employer and want to be in a supportive environment.
“We’re seeing tremendous amounts of burnout. How is it that we support the profession of nursing and the training of nursing and make sure that nurses have what they need out in the field," she said.
She sees nursing graduates having leverage.
"Nurses can kind of pick where it is they want to work," she said.
Kaiser Permanente employees hope they can use leverage to negotiate a new deal.
A spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente says they offered 12.5% across-the-board pay increases over four years, as well as increasing the minimum wage for Colorado employees to $21 per hour.
"But most of all we want Kaiser to know that we're human too, and we need livable wages and we need to be respected for what we do," said Lisa Crawford, an employee on strike.
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