More Than 4,000 California Hospital Workers Vote to Go on Strike

More than 4,000 workers at 11 California hospitals have voted to strike in the coming days, alleging that their employer, Tenet Healthcare, refused to bargain over Covid-19 protections.

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West said Tuesday that Tenet rejected most of its pandemic-protection requests, including more protective equipment and testing for employees. The vote margin was 96% percent in favor of a strike, the union said.

“We are scared to come to work knowing we are at great risk of exposure to COVID-19,” Gisella Thomas, a respiratory therapist at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, said in a written statement. ...