This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA.
Nurses are stepping up and fighting back here in the United States, but also across the pond in the United Kingdom. The UK nurses are on strike over understaffing, overwork, and pay that does not keep up with inflation.
January 18 and 19 marked two days of 12-hour strikes, which impacted about a quarter of the hospitals and clinics in England. Emergency care and cancer treatment continues, but thousands of appointments have been canceled. The UK nurses’ union says their message is clear, “Talk pay now.”
UK strikes are expected to continue in February and March. February 1 could be a powerful mobilization that unites different work sectors: teachers, train drivers, civil servants and university staff.
The grievances of workers both here in California, across our nation, and the globe, are one and the same. The capitalist class has created inflation that impacts the livelihoods of workers all around the world, while the wealthy few continue to rake in profits. Strikes in other countries highlight that workers are standing up to the injustices of the capitalist system everywhere!
