Trapped Indoors
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA. In a recent memo sent by the Kaiser administration, we were warned not to leave the downtown Oakland building during our lunch breaks. This was after a couple of workers at Kaiser were victims of theft […]
What’s Going on With Bargaining at AHS?
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA. Our Highland SEIU-1021 contract expires May 31st, which is only 3 months away! So far, we’ve had a contract kick-off rally, where we chanted, ate some burritos, and got ourselves a purple union t-shirt. We’ve also […]
To Save a Buck, Let’s All Catch TB!
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA. We know that Kaiser is notorious for cutting corners, but the recent email sent to all Kaiser employees that the hospital would no longer be mandating tuberculosis (TB) testing, appeared almost like an early April Fool’s […]
No Court Can Save Us; Only We Can!
Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother, is the latest victim of Texas’s near-total abortion ban. After she made multiple emergency room visits and her health worsened, Cox and her attorneys requested she be provided a legal abortion, and won a district court’s approval. Within hours, the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned hospitals against performing the procedure, and […]
Highland Workers Hold Daily Vigils
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA. For the past few weeks, workers at Highland Hospital have been commemorating the lives of the children killed in the ongoing attacks on Gaza. What started as a one time action on World Children’s Day (November […]
Baltimore: Nurses at Saint Agnes Hospital Win Union Recognition
Nurses at Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore have won union recognition.
Kaiser’s Historic Strike! But What Will Result?
On October 4, 75,000 Kaiser healthcare workers went out on an unfair labor practices strike (ULP). The strike was set to last three days, ending at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday the 7th. Many are considering the strike historic, the largest healthcare workers’ strike in U.S. history. There has been a lot of media coverage of […]
Kaiser Permanente’s Medical Waste Scandal: The True Cost of Healthcare Profits
Kaiser Permanente, the healthcare giant, has agreed to a $49-million-dollar settlement as a result of its unlawful disposal of hazardous materials, improper management of other medical waste, and mishandling of protected patient data. Investigators found items such as blood and body parts in trash bins destined to go to local landfills. They also found over […]
Painkiller Review: The Evil of Big Pharma
The Netflix series Painkiller shows Purdue Pharma’s role in the opioid crisis, and the difficulty in holding corporations accountable under capitalism.
Health Care is About to Get Even More Expensive
Health insurance premiums are about to increase to their highest level, going up on average about 6% this year. Health insurance companies say they have no choice because the cost of health care keeps increasing. But in reality, insurance companies are doing just fine, with the last few years seeing their highest profits ever recorded. […]
The Biden Administration Says You’re on Your Own as COVID-19 Cases Rise
The U.S. is experiencing a recent rise in COVID-19 cases, but the government has decided it’s not a problem anymore, and is not taking any action to mitigate it.
Gilead and Big Pharma: Profits over Patients
Gilead Sciences delayed a new, more-effective AIDS treatment drug so they could continue profiting from the still-patented old drugs.
Heat Waves Freaking Out Healthcare
Hospitals have faced a surge in people needing treatment during the recent heat waves.
Short Staffing = Short Breaks
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA. At a time of severe understaffing at Highland, we truly need our rest when we finally go on break. But there is never enough time to break when the hospital is always in dire need of […]
The Long Wait
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA. One word of advice for incoming Kaiser patients: patience! Because of understaffing, it is almost inevitable that it will take a much longer time to get an appointment than it should. For patients who have been […]
Short Staffing Petition at Highland
Highland Hospital needs to get more staff and stop overworking its workers.
Overtime = Saving Kaiser $$
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA. If you work at Kaiser, you’ve felt the pressure to work overtime, especially as we enter the summer months. You may feel the coercion from management, who calls on everybody to “contribute,” or the insistence may […]
Right-Wing Courts Move to Ban Medication Abortion Nationwide
Last week in Texas, a Trump-appointed judge placed a nationwide ban on the use of the drug mifepristone, which is used in medication abortions. Over half of all abortions in the U.S. use oral medication, rather than a clinical procedure. The drugs used for medication abortions – mifepristone and misoprostol – have been F.D.A.-approved since 2000. […]
For Efficiency, Cigna Health Insurance Just Says NO!
Cigna health insurance has an efficient system to process claims quickly and easily: they just ask their medical reviewers to outright reject most claims. This streamlined system allows a doctor to review the claim and reject it without even opening the file. In the 6 ½ minutes it took me to read the investigative report […]
Republicans Set Their Sights on Banning Medication Abortions
With Roe v. Wade overturned, abortion is now banned or severely restricted in over 18 states, with more on the way. Now, right-wing efforts to ban abortion medication, are intensifying. Over half of all abortions in the U.S. use oral medication, rather than a medical procedure. The drugs used for medication abortions, mifepristone and misoprostol, […]
CDC Report on Teen Depression: This System is Making us Sick
A CDC report released on Feb. 13 told us that there is a terrible rise in teen depression, especially for girls. Specifically, in the U.S. nearly: These findings show high and worsening levels of persistent sadness or hopelessness across all racial and ethnic groups. We can’t be sure of all of the causes of this. […]