This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser Oakland in Oakland, CA.
It is now the fourth week of the UNAC/UHCP strike, and while many workers are still standing strong on the picket line, many are also feeling the economic pressure to return to work.
Last week, reinforcements briefly arrived for UNAC/UHCP workers, as around 3,000 pharmacy assistants in the UFCW joined the strike against Kaiser in southern California for 3 days. The impact of UFCW joining the strike was immediate and telling: Kaiser, which had been stonewalling UNAC/UHCP by refusing to bargain for weeks, suddenly returned to the table around the same time pharmacy assistants walked out. That probably wasn’t a coincidence due to the combined impact of workers from both unions being on strike. It’s not clear how long it will take for the UNAC/UHCP strike to be settled. But one thing is true — to win this fight, this example shows solidarity from other workers will be key.
When only one group of workers is out on strike and the rest of the hospital is still running, it is much more difficult for those on strike to go up against a boss as powerful as Kaiser. For Kaiser Oakland workers who aren’t striking but support UNAC/UHCP workers in their fight, regardless of the formal position their unions have taken towards the strike, rank-and-file workers can organize solidarity themselves — just as they’d want others to do for them if they were on strike. Even small gestures, like bringing coworkers to the picket line during breaks, can make a real difference in morale.
