Photo: ETIENNE LAURENT / EFE
23 healthcare workers were arrested at noon Monday during a protest outside Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Hollywood. after the Los Angeles Police Department declared the demonstration an unlawful assembly on Labor Day.
Workers were detained and cited by the Los Angeles police for “civil disobedience”. Later, they were released.
Arrested health workers They were participating in a Labor Day march that ended with a rally in front of the Kaiser Permanente in Hollywood..
Represented by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHWW)workers have been in a dispute with Kaiser Permanente, which is one of the largest health care systems in the United States over denouncing what they say are unfair labor practices.
Faced with growing unrest, tens of thousands of medical system workers began the process of authorizing a strike, which would be the largest health care suspension in the country’s history.
During the protest, around 11:20 am, workers sat in front of the hospital, blocking the street as part of the protest.
LAPD officers said that ordered protesters to disperse, but health workers stood firm with their protest.
Faced with the refusal, the officers proceeded to detain and arrest the protesters, who even had their hands immobilizeddespite the displeasure of the workers.
The authorities reported that A total of 23 protesters were arrested, but were later released after being cited for civil disobedience, without further incident..
Protests in front of the Kaiser Permanente were part of demonstrations that took place in other hospitals and medical centers in California on the occasion of Labor Day.
In a statement issued by SEIU-UHWW, workers said they were “exhausted and fed up after years of pandemic and chronic staff shortages”.
“Health care providers are failing workers and patients, and we are at crisis levels in our hospitals and medical centers. Our employers make billions of dollars in profit, but refuse to safely staff their facilities or pay many of their workers a living wage.“said Kaiser Permanente South Bay service representative, Datosha Williams.
Williams added that union leaders and healthcare workers were “prepared to do whatever it takes” to continue to voice their concerns and discontent about the situation they are facing at Kaiser Permanente hospitals.
In a recent survey of 33,000 health care provider workers, it was said that two in three respondents said they had witnessed care being delayed or denied due to understaffingSEIU-UHWW said.
The union mentioned that many of its members live in cars, while Nonprofit Kaiser Permanente recently reported more than $3 billion in profit in the first half of 2023.
The demonstration held this Monday had the support of the Los Angeles County Federation of Laborand featured speeches by healthcare workers, as well as other California labor leaders and elected officials.
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