Healthcare for Profit: Striking for Basic Humanity
📰 THE STORY: The Independent reports that 31,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are striking across the US, citing 'unfair labor practices' driven by inadequate pay and staffing levels, leading to burnout and compromised patient care. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This strike isn't an anomaly; it's a symptom of a healthcare system fundamentally reshaped by
neoliberal policies since the 1980s. President Reagan's 1981 firing of 11,000 striking PATCO air traffic controllers set a precedent for union busting, weakening worker power across industries, including healthcare. This paved the way for 'for-profit' healthcare models that relentlessly squeeze labor costs. Before this, unions had far more leverage, securing better conditions. Double Standard:
When workers in countries targeted by Western imperialism strike—say, in Venezuela or Iran—Western media often frames it as a sign of government failure or even 'popular uprising' deserving of international intervention. Yet, when tens of thousands of essential workers like those at Kaiser Permanente, the largest managed care organization in the US, strike in the West over conditions that directly
impact public health and safety, it's typically reduced to a 'labor dispute,' sanitizing the systemic exploitation inherent in the for-profit model. Follow the Money: Kaiser Permanente is a non-profit, but its executives are handsomely compensated, and the system operates like a massive corporation. In 2022, Kaiser reported nearly $21 billion in operating revenue and posted a net income of $2.4